The Historical 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

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.

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.

The San Francisco earthquake on April 18, 1906 was one of the most devastating earthquakes felt by a lot of states. At 5:15 am, this earthquake which registered at 8.25 on the Richter Scale shook San Francisco, California. The earthquake lasted less than a minute and it did a lot of destruction in that period of time. The most destructive part during the San Francisco earthquake was the fires which began after, as a result of the earthquake. The fires killed about 3,000 people and left 400,000 homeless (San Francisco Earthquake). The San Francisco earthquake epicenter was located near San Andreas fault and as a result, the damages caused by the earthquake was felt many miles along the San Andreas fault line. The city of San Francisco was known for its culture and economy, and because of the impact of the earthquake and fire, the city was in total disaster. Because of the magnitude of the earthquake and the amount of damage it did to the city of San Francisco, a lot of data and digital images have been collected so that it can be used for references and be displayed at its anniversary.

George Heinrich Crist, a resident of Kentucky, was settled with his family in a well-built house when the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 came across their path, unlike a storm this “thing” had no warnings. He chose to share his account of this quake, or quakes. This was part of his life and also a part of history in the making so that is why I believe he shared his personal essay. It’s not an argumentative account but rather short entries from 5 months from his life. Kentucky wasn’t the only state that was hurt, 6 other states were involved. The term “New Madrid Earthquake” refers to portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. This was the biggest earthquake (series of earthquakes) as it changed the course of the Mississippi river.

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

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.

According to the court clerk of the U.S. District Court of San Francisco, the earthquake lasted around a minute, however that minute was enough to inflict one of the most devastating disasters in United States history. The earthquake was felt from Oregon to Las Angeles as well as Nevada with the epicenter occurring 2 miles away from San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean. The quake resulted in water mains and gas lines breakages, and the fires raged unchecked which spread to over 500 blocks in San Francisco. Although the earthquake of 1906 is known as the San Francisco earthquake, the cities of Santo Rosa and San Jose were affected as well and lost much of their infrastructure.

What did the people of San Francisco suffer after the earthquake of 1906? In order to answer this question, we need to know what the San Francisco earthquake was. The San Francisco earthquake happened in 1906 with a magnitude of 7.8 and caused a fire that burned for 7 days. This was the biggest recorded earthquake in San-Francisco. The foreshock started at 5:12am and 25 seconds later the earthquake started that lasted 40 to 60 seconds, with most San-Franciscans asleep in rooms, they became trapped with only their hope to save them. The earthquake and fire of San-Francisco in 1906 will go down as one of the worst earthquakes in the United States’ history. It’s after affects can still be felt in the California area.

Fourteen years since 9/11, the attack has retained its place in history as the greatest loss

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.

The tea cups that began to shatter were enough to wake Rose M. Quinn from her bed in the early morning hours of April 18, 1906. The earthquake that lasted just one minute was estimated to be close to 8.0 on the richter scale and was large enough to destroy 30,000 buildings, including her own home, in what was determined to be one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in U.S history. And while Ms.Quinn held out hope that her “City of the Golden West” would restore its nearly 400 million dollars worth of damage (10.8 billion dollars today), an even stronger and largely unknown earthquake rocked the United States just 100 years prior.

It shifted the ground 4 to 5 feet per second. The cost of property damage was 400 million. Which is more than 10 Billion in today's money. It was the world’s first major natural disaster to have its effects recorded by photography. The Fires after the earthquake destroyed 28,000 buildings, 500 blocks, a quarter of San Francisco.

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

Source 3: “Loma Prieta Earthquake” states, “the earthquake killed more than 60 people, injured almost 4,000.” Many people die or are severely injured during the earthquake or the after shock. People who are in critical conditions may have to say goodbye to one of their limbs. Depression is a common reaction to earthquakes; when people or material things you have grown fond of go away it may lead to depression and this tends to happen after earthquakes. It was said in Source 3: “Loma Prieta Earthquake” that as the San Francisco Giants were warming up the Loma Prieta Earthquake happened and it frightened the people in the stadium.

Everybody new that San Francisco has earthquakes so this one was no surprise. My brother and I were in 2nd period P.E and were playing ultimate frisbee and the ground started to shake, so we got to the floor and protected our heads like we were taught to do. Only this time was different the other kids around me started screaming my name, but I didn't notice them I was to busy trying to escape. It turns out that the earthquake was