Andrews blawg: Unit 5 Post: San Francisco Earthquake

Andrew du Bois

Unit 5 Post: 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

A massive earthquake, the likes of which had never been seen by residents of the western United States, hit San Francisco along with much of the northern California coastline, on April 18, 1906. The quake hit early in the morning, and had a magnitude estimated at 7.9, making it the highest magnitude quake in the history of California. Apart from the earthquake itself, massive fires that broke as an immediate result of the quake caused a great deal of devastation and destruction to the entire city of San Francisco. San Francisco, along with much of California in the early 20th century, was at great risk for an earthquake, and surprisingly had little to no sort of preparation for the inevitable disaster. San Francisco lies next to the San Andreas Fault, which spans the entire length of California, or about 800 miles. There were very few building standards in place before the earthquake to make sure the major structures in the city were prepared to withstand such a massive tremor. Also, fire safety was not a major issue when dealing with the construction of homes or other public places in the early 1900s, so the entire city was not only at risk of completely collapsing as a result of a shift in the earth, but it also had a high risk of burning to the ground, as many of it’s densely packed large buildings were not designed to withstand such a massive fire as the one that broke out as a direct result of the quake. In the preceding decade, Northern California had experienced the largest number of minor earthquakes in history, which is a characteristic typical of locations where a major earthquake hits. It is astounding to me that these minor quakes were not seen as a precursor to a major one, and the proper precautions were not taken to prepare the city for a quake of a high magnitude. As far as possible cause goes, there is speculation that these minor earthquakes, which are believed to be partially the catalyst for the major quake, were a result of hydraulic mining practiced during the California Gold Rush. When the earthquake made impact on San Francisco, it was 5:12 AM, so most of the city was still asleep, which only adds to the level of unpreparedness displayed. There was a foreshock of about 20 seconds, which awoke and alarmed much of the city. But it was much too late to take any preventative measures, as the major shock wave hit immediately after the foreshock, and lasted for nearly 45 seconds. During and immediately after the initial tremor was when much of the destruction happened, with multiple major public destinations such as Market Street and Haight Ashbury Street, collapsing as a whole. The initial death toll was 375, although that number is believed to be low as hundreds of deaths in the poverty stricken Chinatown went unreported. As hard as it sounds to believe, the earthquake was not even the cause of the majority of the destruction of the city. In fact, nearly 90% of the destruction is said to have been caused by the fire. Unprotected gas mains snapped during the tremor, and all it took after that was a spark to set an entire block ablaze. The fires ravaged the city, leaving almost 300,000 people, or 3/4s of the population, homeless. There were over 30 fires that emerged throughout the course of the disaster, and these destroyed around 25,000 buildings. The destruction caused by the fire may have been at least partially avoidable, but along with the gas mains that snapped during the earthquake, the water lines failed also, so the remaining firemen had no source to power their hoses to put out the blazes ripping the entire city apart. After all of the damage had been done, the final cost of the destruction was $235 million, which is equivalent to slightly over $6 billion in today’s currency. A large majority of that figure was damage done by the fire, as it ravaged the entire city for four straight days. Apart from taking a massive blow financially, the city was also stricken by poverty in the aftermath of the disaster, with well over half of the population becoming homeless and setting up refugee camps, which were densely populated by tens of thousands of residents living in tents. The death toll was immensely high also, thought to be almost 3,500, which is a low number considering the amount of unreported deaths in and around Chinatown. It would make sense that the city would set very strict building standards relating to the stability and fire resistance of the structure. However, building standards were lowered immensely in the aftermath of the disaster, as the San Francisco municipal government wanted the city restored immediately so it could continue to be a flourishing trade destination, and to prepare for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. These structures built with minimal regulations are still standing today, and they put San Francisco at even more risk to be ravaged by a similar disaster.