SAN FRANCISCO — Still rocking from what probably will be the second deadliest American earthquake ever, the Bay Area slowly began Wednesday to dig out its dead and repair the damage left in a swath of carnage 100 miles long.
At least 35 people have been confirmed dead, and officials expect the toll to reach well over 200 when victims are dug from beneath the collapsed double-deck levels of the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland. Several hundred people may have been crushed under tons of concrete, but it will be days before the bodies can be recovered and an actual count taken.
State officials had estimated Wednesday morning that the toll could reach 273 dead, but later said that it was too early to know for sure.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit District tube beneath San Francisco Bay was briefly closed Wednesday night after a BART train operator "reported some water seepage," said Kay Springer, manager of passenger services. But the tube was reopened without incident after the damage was pronounced minor.
Also Wednesday, an eight-block area of the well-to-do Marina District near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco was hurriedly evacuated because of fears of gas explosions and falling debris from damaged buildings. The area suffered the greatest damage in the city, although it was more than 50 miles from the earthquake's epicenter near Santa Cruz.
Police barricades were erected at every key intersection, and Red Cross workers went door-to-door and down the middle of streets with bullhorns to ask residents to leave quickly. Residents who had left to go out to dinner were stopped and turned back on their return.
State disaster authorities have counted at least 1,390 injuries from the quake in five counties, and scores of buildings have fallen in a swath reaching from San Francisco south to Hollister. Thousands of homes suffered damage ranging from items knocked off shelves to shattered windows and toppled chimneys. Damage could easily mount into the billions of dollars.
While rescue crews and the California National Guard continued searching for survivors and bodies, President Bush on Wednesday signed a disaster-relief declaration and said the federal government "will take every step and make every effort" to help.
Gov. George Deukmejian arrived at the scene of the Nimitz Freeway collapse after hurrying back from a trade trip to West Germany.
