A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 18, 1906, the deadliest earthquake in U.S. history struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires across the city. More than 3,000 people are believed to have been killed by the quake, which was estimated to have reached as high as 8.3 magnitude on the Richter scale.
The fourth EXTRA! edition of the Deseret News on April 18 told the story:
“EARTHQUAKE, PANIC, DEATH, FLOOD, FIRE.” Photos accompanied the coverage from a variety of locations.
Some of the Deseret News headlines that week included:
“Day of doom and disaster: Frightful calamity comes to San Francisco in the early morning hours”
“Violent vibration clear across continent”
“Disaster grows as reports come in”
“Salt Lakers on the coast: Salt Lake relief”
“All hope of saving San Francisco abandoned”
“A quarter million of a people homeless and destitute”
“Congress gives sufferers $1,000,000″
“Day dawns on desolate scene”
“(Latter-day Saint) Church gives $10,000″
Among the worst quakes in the nation, California has had more than its share. Big temblors in the state, located on the “Ring of Fire,” include the 6.7-magnitude quake centered in Northridge in 1994, the 1992 Landers earthquake, a 7.3-magnitude blast, and the October 1987 and 1989 quakes in Northern California.
In 2019, the Ridgecrest earthquake on July 4 measured 6.4 magnitude, followed by a 7.1 magnitude quake on July 5.
Other big quakes in California have occurred in 2010, 2009, 2003, 1991, 1980, 1971, 1964, 1952 and 1933.
The worst California earthquake in magnitude may have been the Fort Tejon/Kearn County blast in 1857, which measured a 7.9 on the Richter scale.
What happened
The foreshock began at approximately 5:12 a.m., per reports, with the main quake beginning 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.
On April 22, President Theodore 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.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the earthquake and those who experienced it:
“1906 San Francisco Earthquake”
“1906 quake ‘schoolmaster’ to Saints; Disaster was severe trial, but fortified testimones”
“Commemorating 1906 earthquake”
“Oldest survivor of San Francisco earthquake of 1906 dies”
“USU team studying stresses inside San Andreas”
“1989 quake rattled even the calmest minds in S.F.”
“Where did Utah’s earthquake rank among others?”
