I don't remember any Loma Preta earthquake jokes either...or any Hurricane Andrew jokes....or Oklahoma City jokes. There simply is nothing funny about real people suffering. (Sure, there is sometimes clever word play or bad puns, but tasteless jokes are just that-tasteless.)

It seems to me that most 'shock' jokes are about imagined disasters, or parodies of disaster(what is that squishy stuff between elephants toes?..Slow natives)....or spin-offs such as what to do with the Taliban...that is, irony/sarcasm/ridicule of disaster 'causes'. "Send their women to college" has a certain ring to it.)

Humor can help us get on with life and cope...but only if it does not directly call up the pain & anguish again.