Sandra Eisert received the Atrium Award for Graphic Design while working at the "San Jose Mercury News". At the "San Jose Mercury News" Eisert helped cover the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The staff won the Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting next year, citing "detailed coverage of the October 17, 1989, Bay Area earthquake and its aftermath." In 1990, Eisert was one of three judges who selected entries in a national exhibition of Women in Photojournalism that was taken on a national tour by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), a professional society of still and video photojournalists. In 1991, Eisert received
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 12,000 customers had their power restored within two days. The quake caused an estimated $6 billion in property damage, becoming one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history at the time. Private donations poured into aid relief efforts and on October 26, President George H. W. Bush signed a $1.1 billion earthquake relief package for California. Four people died in San Francisco's Marina District, four buildings were destroyed by fire, and seven buildings collapsed. Another 63 damaged structures were judged too dangerous to live in. Among the four deaths, one family lost their infant son who choked on