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Associated Press
Residents stand amid ruined buildings on Sacramento Street, San Francisco, after the
earthquake in April 1906.
Residents stand amid ruined buildings on Sacramento Street, San Francisco, after the
earthquake in April 1906.
On This Day: San Francisco Struck by Devastating Earthquake
April 18, 2009 07:30 AM
by
Kate Davey
On April 18, 1906, at 5:12 am, San Francisco experienced what would become known as the worst earthquake in U.S. history. The city was almost entirely destroyed.
1906 Earthquake Destroys San Francisco
The quake struck about 20 minutes before dawn and came in two shocks lasting a little over a minute. In that brief period of time, the quake left much of San Francisco in ruins.
Police officer Jessie Cook said the quake sounded like “the roar of the sea.” Henry Powell, a police lieutenant, also thought of the ocean when he said that Valencia Street started to “roll in waves like a rough sea in a squall, but it sank in places and vomited up its car tracks and the tunnels that carried the cables. These lifted themselves out of the pavement, and bent and snapped.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the earthquake released the energy of several nuclear bombs.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the magnitude of the 1906 earthquake was somewhere between 7.7 and 8.3, occurred on the San Andreas Fault and was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles.
Police officer Jessie Cook said the quake sounded like “the roar of the sea.” Henry Powell, a police lieutenant, also thought of the ocean when he said that Valencia Street started to “roll in waves like a rough sea in a squall, but it sank in places and vomited up its car tracks and the tunnels that carried the cables. These lifted themselves out of the pavement, and bent and snapped.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the earthquake released the energy of several nuclear bombs.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the magnitude of the 1906 earthquake was somewhere between 7.7 and 8.3, occurred on the San Andreas Fault and was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles.
Fire, looting, shootings and plague
The earthquake left more than 3,000 people dead, 225,000 homeless and destroyed more than 28,000 buildings.
Almost immediately after the quake ended, massive fires broke out and spread quickly through the city, compounding the devastation of the earthquake. Many pipes had ruptured, cutting off the water supply, and the fire chief had been critically injured in the earthquake. The firemen, aided by 2,000 federal troops, decided to dynamite some of the buildings to create firebreaks, and only ended up causing more fires. The fires lasted four days, and in that time, as National Public Radio reports, they leveled more than three-quarters of the city.
In addition to avoiding fire, dangers from the aftermath of the quake and looters, San Francisco residents also had to avoid being shot. Eugene E. Schmitz, the mayor of San Francisco, ordered the police to “KILL any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime.” He also requested that “all citizens remain at home from darkness until daylight every night until order is restored.”
But as mentioned, many San Francisco residents now had no homes to return to. They huddled in tent camps, which proved to be a perfect breeding ground for rats and fleas. There was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague, which was not fully curtailed until 1909.
Almost immediately after the quake ended, massive fires broke out and spread quickly through the city, compounding the devastation of the earthquake. Many pipes had ruptured, cutting off the water supply, and the fire chief had been critically injured in the earthquake. The firemen, aided by 2,000 federal troops, decided to dynamite some of the buildings to create firebreaks, and only ended up causing more fires. The fires lasted four days, and in that time, as National Public Radio reports, they leveled more than three-quarters of the city.
In addition to avoiding fire, dangers from the aftermath of the quake and looters, San Francisco residents also had to avoid being shot. Eugene E. Schmitz, the mayor of San Francisco, ordered the police to “KILL any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime.” He also requested that “all citizens remain at home from darkness until daylight every night until order is restored.”
But as mentioned, many San Francisco residents now had no homes to return to. They huddled in tent camps, which proved to be a perfect breeding ground for rats and fleas. There was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague, which was not fully curtailed until 1909.
Later Developments: Advances in seismology
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the devastation of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake inspired the start of the scientific study of earthquakes in the United States.
Before 1906, U.S. scientists were far behind Europeans and the Japanese in the gathering of information concerning earthquakes. After the earthquake, it became evident that California, and the U.S. in general, would benefit from studying earthquakes and fault lines.
At the time, Andrew C. Lawson, chairman of the geology department at the University of California, Berkeley headed the State Earthquake Investigation Commission. In 1908, the Commission presented a report, now known as the Lawson report, on “earthquake's damage, the movement on the San Andreas fault, the seismograph records of the earthquake from around the world and the underlying geology in northern California.”
Today, there are multiple institutions in the U.S. and around the world dedicated to monitoring and improving the prediction of earthquakes, and designing buildings that can better withstand seismic shocks.
Before 1906, U.S. scientists were far behind Europeans and the Japanese in the gathering of information concerning earthquakes. After the earthquake, it became evident that California, and the U.S. in general, would benefit from studying earthquakes and fault lines.
At the time, Andrew C. Lawson, chairman of the geology department at the University of California, Berkeley headed the State Earthquake Investigation Commission. In 1908, the Commission presented a report, now known as the Lawson report, on “earthquake's damage, the movement on the San Andreas fault, the seismograph records of the earthquake from around the world and the underlying geology in northern California.”
Today, there are multiple institutions in the U.S. and around the world dedicated to monitoring and improving the prediction of earthquakes, and designing buildings that can better withstand seismic shocks.
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