1906 San Francisco Earthquake
by Marci RanzerOn April 18, 1906 one of the most destructive earthquakes in American history tore through the city of San Francisco. The earthquake measured an estimated magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale. The first of six seismic waves struck at 5:13 in the morning of April 18.
As awful as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was, the fires that followed were even more disastrous. The quake ruptured gas lines throughout the city causing fires to break out in more than fifty locations. The business section of the city went up in flames and fires swept rapidly toward Chinatown and the stately mansions in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco. Firemen rushed to help put out the flames, however the earthquake had also destroyed the water mains leaving their pumps dry of water. San Francisco had virtually no water at all. The fire department was for the most part unable to help to fight the raging fires because they lacked any accessible equipment.
For three days and two nights, the largest urban fire in recorded history burst out of control. During that compressed bulk of time, the fire consumed an area of four square miles. The fires almost entirely destroyed the central business and industrial districts of San Francisco. Finally, on the fourth day, the fires were brought under control. But unfortunately the city lay in ruins with the equivalent of $7 billion in damages. There were thousands of people injured in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. A city of 450,000 people had no food, no water, and half its population was homeless. Hospitals had been destroyed and looters roamed the streets. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake death toll was at a total number of 500 people.
Army units were called to help restore order. Food kitchens were set up in the streets to feed the hungry. 50,000 newly homeless refugees were packed on ferryboats and given shelter across the city’s bay. The ferries’ return trips were used to bring back water, which was then distributed to people by horse and wagon.
Aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906
Nine days after the earthquake, the city was functioning again. But by then, the shocking extent of the disaster was apparent. Especially hard hit were the opulent homes of the wealthy that lived on Russian Hill and Knob Hill. The entire area was reduced to rubble. Work crews hunted through the ruins for weeks looking for bodies of the missing. Walls that had not completely crumbled were torn down to prevent further loss of life from falling rubble.
The disaster that struck that April morning produced several unexpected benefits. It became clear that the long unheeded claims of political corruption were true. Grafts, payments, and bribes were out of control during San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz’s three terms in office. The corruption was uncovered as a result of the earthquake. This however, led to a political unrest. Mayor Schmitz was thrown out of office and brought to trial. Other dishonest contractors and civic officials were soon jailed along with the mayor. The wholesale destruction of thousands of substandard buildings brought the need for strong building codes into clear focus for the first time. Future structures were built much safer than they had ever been before the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. The city rebounded quickly due to aid from around the world and reconstruction began within weeks. San Francisco was totally rebuilt within three years.
