DAY IN HISTORY-APRIL 18, 1906

Earthquake Devastates San Francisco

The worst earthquake in U.S. history

Ruins from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

In the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck the city of San Francisco, California. According to the USGS (United States Geological Survey):

At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada.

The damage to the “City by the Bay” was nothing short of spectacular. After the earthquake struck, fires broke out around San Francisco, lasting several days. It was the fire, in fact, that did the most damage. Over 80 percent of the city was destroyed and various estimates suggest more than 3,000 people died. Out of a population of 410,000, up to 300,000 were left homeless.

In 1908, Andrew Lawson, a geologist and professor at the University of California at Berkeley, co-authored what is generally regarded as the most authoritative report on the earthquake. While the “Lawson…