The 1906 Earthquake and Fire a brief overview

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The 1906 Earthquake and Firea brief overview
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The 1906 Earthquake Fire

• When April 18, 1906, 511- 515 a.m.
• Where From Eureka to Salinas
• Magnitude Estimated between 7.8-8.1

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Dead - More than 3,000A report of U.S. Army
relief operations (Greely, 1906) recorded 498
deaths in San Francisco 64 deaths in Santa Rosa
102 deaths in and near San Jose A 1972 NOAA
report suggested that 700-800 was a reasonable
figure. Gladys Hansen and Emmet Condon, after
extensive research, estimated that over 3000
deaths were caused directly or indirectly by the
catastrophe. The population of San Francisco at
the time was about 400,000. Homeless -
225,000225,000 from a population of about
400,000. (photo) (photo) (photo) Buildings
Destroyed - 28,000"The 3-day conflagration
following the earthquake caused substantially
more damage than did the earthquake. The area of
the burned district covered 4.7 square mile..."
(NOAA report). By one count Wood buildings lost
24,671 (photo) Brick buildings lost 3,168
(photo) (photo) Total buildings lost 28,188
(photo) (photo) (photo) Monetary Loss - More
than 400 million Estimated property damage
(NOAA report) 400,000,000 in 1906 dollars from
earthquake and fire, 80,000,000 from the
earthquake alone. (photo) (photo) (photo)
The Damage was extensive
All information on the is page, Courtesy of
http//quake.wr.usgs.gov/info/1906/casualties.html
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Seismology was a new field of study at the turn
of the century.

• Above is a seismogram recorded in Gottingen,
  Germany, 9100 miles away. It shows how the ground
  moved in Germany as a result of the 1906 San
  Francisco earthquake. Time advances from left to
  right. Small wiggles, beginning 1/2 inch from
  left end, signal arrival of first compressional
  (P) waves. Large wiggles half way along represent
  arrival of slower-traveling shear (S) waves. The
  part of the record shown here spans about 1600
  seconds or 26 minutes. The instrument
  subsequently went off-scale when surface waves
  arrived.
• Compare the above 1906 seismogram to one recorded
  on the same instrument at the same location after
  the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

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Santa Rosa
Men begin clean-up in the devastated downtown
Santa Rosa. Photograph Courtesy the Santa Rosa
Public Library.
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Oakland
In Oakland, the damage was significant, five
people were killed by the falling rubble and
downtown was closed by the ruins. Photograph
Courtesy the Oakland Museum of California.
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San Jose
One of the grisliest scenes in San Jose, the
damage done to the Agnew Asylum killed 101
patients and 11 staff members. Amongst the wild
spread rumors following the earthquake was the
horrific story of patients being tied to trees
with bed sheets, while staff searched through the
wreckage for the injured. Photograph Courtesy
of California Room, San Jose Public Library
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San Francisco
San Francisco was heavily damaged by the
earthquake houses were twisted, streets buckled,
and buildings collapsed. However, the fires that
followed the earthquake devastated the already
crippled city and separated its story from the
rest. Photographs Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California.
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On April 18, 1906 San Francisco Began to Burn
Photograph Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California
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The Fire Lasted Four Days
Map from the San Francisco City Museum
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The Fire Started in the South of Market
Photograph Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California
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It Obliterated Chinatown
Photograph Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California
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It Ravaged Neighborhoods
Photograph from the National Archives
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The City was Destroyed
Photograph Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California
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Relief came from Around the World and the Bay
The Oakland Chamber of Commerce acted
immediately, accepting donations to help its
sister city. Photograph Courtesy of the Oakland
Museum of California.
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Golden Gate Park
Every clear space available was used to house the
homeless, including Golden Gate Park. Photograph
Courtesy the Oakland Museum of California.
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Military Hospital at the Presidio
The injured and sick were cared for in the
Military Hospital, at the Presidio. Photograph
Courtesy of the Oakland Museum of California.
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The Presidio
Map from the National Archives
A Map from the Refugee Settlements
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People Fled the City

• As the fires that destroyed San Francisco began
  to burn, thousands of San Franciscans fled with
  little more than the clothes they were wearing.
  It was estimated that in the first night alone,
  as many as 50,000 San Franciscans of all ethnic
  backgrounds passed the night of April 19th in the
  spare rooms, tents and make shift outdoor
  accommodations (that) Oakland had struggled to
  provide.1 Churches, lodges and individual
  families opened their doors to the refugees. The
  First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland housed 493
  people in the first week, while the First
  Congregation Church mobilized themselves into
  shifts, cooking and serving food to the homeless
  from 630am to midnight.
• 1 David Weber, Oakland Hub of the West, (Tulsa
  OK Continental-Heritage Press, 1981), pg. 96.

Photograph Courtesy the Oakland Museum of
California.
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Rebuild
The work to clean-up and rebuild San Francisco
was immediate. This photograph shows the rush
hour traffic the work created. Photographs
Courtesy of the Oakland Museum of California.
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Rebuilding the Spirit
1909 Portola Festival
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International Recognition
1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition