1906 San Francisco earthquake

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake at San Francisco, California on the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Foreshocks and the main quake occurred at about 5:12am along the San Andreas Fault, with an epicenter close to the city. Its violent shocks were felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and fire would go down as one of the worst natural disasters to hit a major city in United States history (see also the Galveston Hurricane and Hurricane Katrina).

Related Topics:
Earthquake - San Francisco, California - April 18 - 1906 - San Andreas Fault - Epicenter - Oregon - Los Angeles - Nevada - United States - Galveston Hurricane - Hurricane Katrina

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At the time only 478 deaths were reported, a figure concocted by government officials who felt that reporting the true death toll would hurt real estate prices and efforts to rebuild the city. This figure has been revised to today's conservative estimate of 3000+. Some have put it as high as 6000. Most of the deaths occurred in San Francisco but 189 were reported elsewhere across the San Francisco Bay Area. Other places in the Bay Area such as Santa Rosa, San Jose, and Stanford University also received severe damage.

Related Topics:
San Francisco Bay Area - Santa Rosa - San Jose - Stanford University

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Between 225,000 and 300,000 people were left homeless, out of a population of about 400,000. Half of these refugees fled across the bay to Oakland, in an evacuation similar to the Dunkirk Evacuation that would occur years later. Newspapers at the time described Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, and the beaches between Ingleside and North Beach as covered with tents.

Related Topics:
Oakland - Dunkirk Evacuation - Golden Gate Park - The Panhandle - Ingleside - North Beach

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The earthquake's notoriety rests in part that it was the first natural disaster of its magnitude to be captured by photography. Further, it occurred at a time when the science of seismology was blossoming. The overall cost of the damage from the earthquake was estimated at the time to be around $400,000,000.

Related Topics:
Captured by photography - Seismology

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