Perhaps it should have been called the Great San Francisco Fire instead of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Although the quake, which hit April 18, 1906, caused massive damage, the resulting fires, which lasted three days, caused equal damage and multiplied the death toll. It was one of the greatest disasters in American history. But the following years would show the resilience of the people of San Francisco. Within nine years the city was rebuilt and would host the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
The earthquake
April 18, 1906
The foreshock began at approximately 5:12 a.m. The main quake began 20 to 25 seconds later. The silty ground underneath the city liquefied. Buildings collapsed; gas lines, water mains and power lines snapped. An unknown number of people were killed or trapped in the rubble. Broken gas lines and overturned kerosene lamps sparked fires that continued for three days.
Quake magnitude: 8.25 (Richter scale)
Length of violent shocks: 45 to 60 seconds
Epicenter: near San Francisco
Quake speed: 3 mph
San Andreas fault length: 290 miles
Fault slippage: 8-12 feet (average)
28 feet near Shelter Cove
The quake was felt in an area of about 375,000 square miles (from Coos Bay, Ore., to Los Angeles and into Nevada).
Theodore Roosevelt
On April 22, 1906, President Roosevelt issued a statement that relief efforts would be coordinated by the Red Cross, headed by Dr. Edward Devine, and that $2.5 million had been appropriated by Congress for the relief effort.
Roosevelt wanted to show the world the United States could handle its problems and declined any foreign aid, although some foreign contributions were made through other channels.
DEATHS
U.S. Army report:
San Francisco — 498
Santa Rosa — 64
San Jose — 102
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimate (1972): 700-800
Authors Gladys Hansen and Emmet Condon estimate: 3,000
FACTOIDS
1906 San Francisco population: 400,000
Homeless following the quake: 225,000
Buildings destroyed: 28,000
Area burned: 4.7 square miles
Why earthquakes occur
Stresses along a fault (a fracture in the rocky portion of the Earth's crust) cause the rock to buckle and break. The result is an earthquake.
The San Francisco earthquake was caused by the San Andreas fault, a strike-slip fault in which land masses move past each other horizontally. The Wasatch fault slips primarily in a vertical direction, which is more typical.
THE MILITARY
The Army and Navy played a vital role in not only keeping the peace but helping evacuate residents and providing communications, food and shelter for the homeless.
MARTIAL LAW
At 7 a.m., Army troops from nearby Fort Mason arrived at the Hall of Justice. Martial law was enforced at the request of Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz. By 3 p.m. the mayor gave orders to shoot looters.
Army personnel, being familiar with explosives, aided in demolishing buildings for firebreaks.
The Army Signal Corps fixed telegraph lines and provided communications throughout the disaster area.
Troops, or "boys in blue," not only kept the peace, they also distributed water and food, enforced sanitation and at times acted as arbitrators. One story tells how a baker, seeing an opportunity to make a windfall, raised the price of bread from 10 cents a loaf to 75 cents. A sergeant is said to have bashed his rifle butt into the counter and ordered the baker to lower the price to 10 cents.
The USS Preble provided medical aid for quake victims.
On April 20, the crew of the USS Chicago would evacuate 20,000 people by sea.This would be a record until the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II.
Steam-powered pumps sent pressurized water through lengths of cotton hose.
Hand-powered pumps were used before the introduction of steam in the mid-19th century.
Creating a firebreak
Most water mains were destroyed, and firefighters were forced to create massive firebreaks to contain the fires. This meant dynamiting rows of buildings in order to starve the fire of fuel.
Firefighters, unfamiliar with dynamite, would sometimes place the charges too close to the flames and blow hot embers over the line. Many firefighters and military personnel lost their lives trying to contain the flames. Dynamiting began at 2:30 p.m. on April 18, 1906.
The U.S. Mint
The U.S. Mint and Treasury buildings reportedly had $200 million in coins and bullion and another $39 million in cash in the vaults.
"The Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror" states federal troops killed 34 men who tried to loot the mint.
Relief
Contributions poured in from around the country and other places.
Some of the contributors included:
New York Stock Exchange . . . . . $250,000
Standard Oil . . . . . . . . . . .$100,000
Canadian Parliament . . . . . . . $100,000
U.S. Steel . . . . . . . . . . . .$100,000
Hamburg-American Steamship Line. . $25,000
National Carpenters' Union . . . . $10,000
National Biscuit Co. . . . . . . . .$5,000
Los Angeles . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000
Portland, Ore. . . . . . . . . . .$130,000
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000
St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000
Spokane . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$30,000
Mexico City . . . . . . . . . . . .$30,000
Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000
Pres. Roosevelt . . . . . . . . . . $1,000
E.H. Harriman . . .. . . . . . . .$200,000
W.K. Vanderbilt . . . . . . . . . .$25,000
Andrew Carnegie . . . . . . . . . $100,000
China's dowager empress pledged 100,000 taels (a type of currency), which were declined by Roosevelt.
Horror story
Police and bystanders struggled to free a man from the wreckage of a burning building. When it was evident that there was nothing that could be done, the trapped man, realizing his fate, begged a police officer to shoot him.
The officer took the man's name and then shot him in the head.
EARTHQUAKE FACTS
Any earthquake registering more than 6.0 will cause significant damage.
Powerful earthquakes occur on average once every two years.
40 moderate earthquakes occur annually.
40,000 to 50,000 minor earthquakes occur annually, causing no damage.
In 1811-12, three magnitude 8 quakes struck in Missouri. The first was felt from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic Coast to the Rockies. The quake caused church bells in Boston to ring.
TRIVIA
Policemen and military personnel would regularly commandeer passing civilians for work details to remove rubble and assist in rescues.
Parks and open areas were transformed into refugee camps, with thousands of tents brought in by the military.
During the crisis, bread sold for as much as $1 a loaf, and a glass of water sold for 50 cents.
The homeless would stand in line for up to three hours waiting for food.
1,500 tons of provisions were moved to 52 food depots daily.
Free graves were provided by the Masonic Cemetery Association.
At around noon on April 18, 1906, two minor quakes hit Los Angeles, causing panic among citizens just learning about the San Francisco tragedy.
DAMAGE
Total loss of property in 1906 dollars: $500,000,000
Total expenditures of the U.S. government in 1900: $520,861,000
Life in 1900 (U.S.)
California population: 1,485,053
Average family size: 4.7 people
Average hourly wage: 22¢
Average workweek: 59 hours
Total cars registered in U.S.: 8,000
Beef per pound: 10¢
Butter per pound: 18¢
Sugar (100 pounds): $5.80
SOURCES: U.S. Geologic Survey, usgs.gov; "Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror, 1906"; World Book Encyclopedia; Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, sfmuseum.org;"1906 San Francisco Earthquake," everything2.com; "This Fabulous Century 1900-1910"; "Firefighting and Dynamiting," "Signal Corps and Communications" and "The 1906 Earthquake and Fire," www.nps.gov; gordon.army.mil