San Francisco, a thriving city in the early 1900s. Gaining its wealth from the gold rush that previously happened in 1849. San Francisco gained 5 billion dollars from land and gold. San Francisco was at a very good economical place, being a rapidly growing city with a large population. The earthquake, was more of a when instead of an if, meaning that the earthquake was inevitable. Of course, due to today's technology and understanding over earthquakes, we know that they were bound to happen, but in the early 1900s, they did not have this knowledge. This earthquake, and the Loma Prieta, were both earthquakes caused from the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas fault is the fault between the Pacific and the Northern Continental tectonic plates. …show more content…
The earthquake lasted a total of 45 seconds, but 26 aftershocks occurred over an extended amount of time afterwards. When the earthquake hit, most people, other than some police officers, were asleep. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the richter scale, so the not so earthquake proof buildings, fell on people as they woke up. 400,000 people in San Francisco underwent this terrible shaking. There were reports of people feeling the shake from southern Oregon to Los Angeles and inland to Central Nevada. Although, there were rich people that had their houses in places such as Nob Hill. Nob Hill was made completely upon bedrock, making the earthquake quite small and unproblematic. The reason the city had the earthquake so bad, was because the city wasn’t built on bedrock, but built on some dirt and such. During San Francisco’s gold rush, they decided to expand the city, by literally creating their own land, by packing a combination of trash, dirt and sand, and then building over it. They were not anticipating what an earthquake could do to that particular land. That land, also called South of Market, was hit so badly, some buildings sunk in the loose sand, dirt and trash, up to three stories. During the fires, the water mains in the city broke due to the earthquake's intensity. The water was leaked into the soil, creating mud. One building that was over the broken water mains, sunk into the wet mud 3 stories, and the last …show more content…
250,000 became homeless, 3,000 went missing or died, and there were 28,000 buildings destroyed. The fires at their worst had a temperature of 2,700 degrees fahrenheit. The entire dilemma, in today’s money, would cost about 120 billion dollars. When the city started rebuilding, there was many problems. San Francisco was faced with poverty and disease. Many people were committing suicide because they had lost everything from family to property. The earthquake was given a symbol, a symbol to represent this earthquake and everything it stood for. The fire was like a phoenix because San Francisco rose from its own ashes to become the great city it is today. San Francisco had a reputation for surviving disasters, the city burned down no more than six times between 1849 and 1851, and after the fire in 1906. San Francisco was finally granted the symbol of a phoenix. The San Andreas Fault is still active. And there hasn’t been an earthquake in a while, which means the tension has been building up in the fault. There is bound to be another intense shaking, like the one in 1906. But like in 1906, the city while rise from its ashes, and be better than ever. Thank
Emma Burke’s point of view of the earthquake in “Comprehending the Calamity” was that it was violent, and hard to understand. She states that “No one can comprehend the calamity to San Francisco in its entirety…” (Burke, 1). This explains to us that the damage caused by the earthquake must have been devastating.. She also describes the extreme force of the earthquake, saying “The shock came, and hurled my bed against an opposite wall… It grew constantly worse, the noise deafening; the crash of dishes… the groaning and straining of the building itself” (1). By describing the enormous event in detail, we can get a sense of just how bad every building was shaking and crumbling.
According to US geological Survey the San Francisco Earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.8. The San Francisco Earthquake Created physical and Mental Destruction. According to sf-info.org Over 80% of the city was destroyed by the earthquake and fire. The Earthquake was a very unique impact for the people of san francisco. Some People argue that the earthquake brought people together while others argue that it brought the worst or the hurt of people. In the Personal Narrative by Emma burke called Comprehending the Calamity and a eyewitness by Fred Hewitt called “ Horrific Wreck of the city” both discuss The Destruction of The San Francisco Earthquake while one of them ( Emma Burke ) believes that the earthquake brought out the good
The 9th of February 1971 an earthquake occurred in the lower parts of the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California. The San Fernando earthquake was measured to have a magnitude of around 6.5, which caused severe damage to buildings and major freeways in the Los Angeles area. Two huge health care buildings in San Fernando caused the majority of deaths when they collapsed at both sides. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the mountains and the most severe damages occurred in northern San Fernando Valley. However, the event impacted other densely populated areas in Los Angeles and caused huge difficulty for transportation as a result of failure in several roadways and freeway interchanges.
On April, 18 1906, San Francisco would be divested by several disasters. That morning at five, the San Andreas Fault shifted, resulting in an earthquake with a strength of 7.8 on the Richter Scale. It shocked San Francisco and the surrounding areas. The quake lasted 45 seconds to one minute only, and caused major damage and loss of life. The buildings in San Francisco during the time were largely made of wood and some of the newly built ones were made of brick and stone. City officials worked with builders for this change in response to six fires that occurred closely together before the earthquake, (Gunn, 2008). The new brick buildings could survive a fire, but it was
About 4000 people were killed over 9000 that were injured that was this famous event you might ask? It was the loma prieta earthquake, also known as the world series earthquake. Taking place in san francisco 1898 this was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the bay area. This earthquake caused an estimate of 5.6 billion dollars for the total damage it had done .The person the was interviewed for this event was Mr.Demichel.he was about 10 when he felt the earthquake.
The Earthquake shook buildings and walls to the ground. But, what came after the quake was much more devastating. Fires broke out in every direction and this thriving city became mostly ashes. People became curious and gracious in this time of turmoil and that has never before been seen in San Francisco. When all hope was lost the firefighters made a great stand putting out the fire and ending the turmoil.
Throughout all of its history, San Francisco has been one the most emblematic cities recognized around the world, as well as one that has seen many tragic events such as the earthquake of 1906, whose devastating aftermath ultimately destroyed the “Golden City” and menaced its citizenry. However, in “Story of an Eyewitness,” Jack London offers the audience a particular account of the event through the use of rhetorical devices and an extended metaphor of San Francisco’s seemingly “doomed fate,” painting a vivid and dramatic image of the tragedy that transcends the geographical and material destruction of the city in order to reveal the innermost loss and significance of San Francisco: its populace’s hope and virtue.
California, and thus San Francisco, lies on the San Andres fault. The earthquake was caused when this fault suddenly shifted, with the rupture spreading for a total of 476 kilometres in northward and southward direction. “This fault is a continental transform fault, which forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.” (1906 Earthquake: How long was the 1906 Crack? USGS Earthquake Hazards Program – Northern California, Accessed September 3, 2006). 1 The distance of the fault is of about 1300 kilometres, which runs the length of California from Cape Mendocino in the north to the Salton Sea in the south. Geologists have estimated that the fault moved as quickly as 2.74 kilometres per second. The San Andreas Fault, the source of this disaster, lies ten miles or deeper, at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, the Pacific and the North American. “The right-lateral strike-slip fault is characterized by mainly lateral motion in a dextral sense, where the western plate (Pacific plate) moves northward relative to the eastern plate (North American
On April 18, 1906, an earthquake occurred in San Francisco with a magnitude of 7.9. The earthquake was caused by the San Andreas Fault since the San Andreas Fault slip over a segment. The earthquake could be felt from Oregon to southern California. Buildings in San Francisco was destroyed by earthquake and fires. Fires started after the earthquake occurred and firefighters were not able to stop the fire because the water mains were broken and because of this, firestorms started to develop around San Francisco. Then, the San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz called the U.S. Army troops to shoot anyone that is found looting. While the army was doing that, firefighters and U.S. troops tried to fight the fire by dynamiting the city to create firewalls.
In order to survive during an earthquake, you must be very aware of how exactly to react and what to do in order to survive. The California Department of Public Health informs families to make a plan to evacuate their homes and find a safe place to go after the first sign of an earthquake (Earthquakes). This is the right thing to do, but people need to know where to go and how fast they need to act. Currently “California does not have an operational earthquake early warning system” (California Seismic Safety Commission) which could warn people when they need to evacuate before the earthquake even hits. I believe that the government of California needs to bring the early warning system back into their safety procedures. The government could also make clear where citizens from each county should go short term and long term in the case of an earthquake. Evacuation plans need to be made for when the earthquake is occurring when people need to find cover where nothing is going to fall on them. Plans for after the initial shaking need to be made as well, telling people to start heading inland toward surrounding states. This plan, however, requires the public to avoid driving over fault lines that could potentially move again. The San Andreas fault system is more than 800 miles long (Oskin), therefore people will need a set evacuation plan in order to know how to evacuate properly. The
Earthquakes are terrible, heartbreaking events. Being caught in one could turn the whole world as you know it, upside down. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 went down in history as one of the most deathifying, tragic earthquakes of all time. The main character in the fictional novel Dragonwings describes this earthquake as he lives through it. The main character, Moon Shadow, can only describe the earthquake to a certain point, whereas a factual short story called “The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fires of San Francisco”, can provide a much broader span of information.
California’s unique geography as a state makes it a very appealing place to call home. From the odd east to west transverse San Gabriel mountain ranges of the Los Angeles Basin, to the bumpy coastal ranges of the Bay Area, any person can find a compatible topographic terrain to their liking. California may seem to be the perfect place to live with its ideal climate and extensive geographic features. However, due to California’s location over the shifting continental plates, coupled with its enormous and also multiple faults, at any time this great state can fall victim to a seismic disaster. After examining evidence from both Rong-Gong Lin’s II Los Angeles Times article of April 18, 2016 and the NOVA videos Killer Quake ( 2006), Earthquake (2007), as well as Geologic Journey II – Episode 3 (The Pacific Rim: Americas) – Part 3 (San Francisco) and The Great San Francisco Earthquake (American Experience ~ 2005), one can take a comparative account of the three major earthquakes of California’s past. Although each earthquake was very devastating on is own; the Great Quake 0f 1906, the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, and the NorthRidge quake of 1994 each amounted to an extensive forfeiture of property and life. Each of these earthquakes created much suffering and loss. It is imperative for each citizen of this great state to understand the damage that a California quake can actually do and be prepared; for the threat of one always looms.
San Francisco's temblor was followed by major fires that lasted for several days. About 3,000 people died and more than 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed.San Francisco was destroyed. Streets of San Francisco: Fires break out in San Francisco on April 18, 1906, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the city. Because they had different purposes for writing, Emma Burke’s point of view of the 1906 earthquake was while Moon Shadow’s point of view was _earthquakes are not enjoyable and you have to find a way to survive it’s like a puzzle .
The San Andreas fault line has caused constant development nightmares for large urban areas such as San Francisco as well as the other cities built on top of it. Fault lines are one of the side effects of the earth’s tectonic plates shifting that can result in devastating earthquakes. Some of the most devastating earthquakes in our modern era have occurred along the San Andreas fault line due to a dense population. The most notable and destructive earthquake on the San Andreas fault line occurred in San Francisco in 1906. The reason this earthquake was so deadly was because of its magnitude and the city’s poor planning. This earthquake was a wakeup call for San Francisco and force the city to revolutionize its knowledge on earthquakes and how to protect their city. Today San Francisco is one of the most well prepared cities for an earthquake and has made great discoveries in earthquake safety measures. The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco has drastically changed how the city has developed its zoning and building code policies, and its earthquake research.
Lasting less than a minute, the immediate impact of the earthquake was disastrous. The earthquake also lead to several fires around the city that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks (archives.gov).The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000