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Monday, April 16, 2018

April 18, 1906 - the earthquake and fire that destroyed 80% of San Francisco: documentary and footage

San Fran City Hall
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake (wiki) struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on April 18 with an estimated"moment magnitude" of 7.8 and a maximum "Mercalli intensity" of "XI" ("Extreme"). Severe shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed. The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high in the lists of American urban disasters.

Below is a side by side comparison of trolley car trips down Market Street taken 1. on April 14, 1906, four days before quake and fire, and 2. shortly after. Check out the lack of traffic regulation - the trolley car is on a track, but there's no rhyme or reason to anything else - no traffic lights, no lanes, and no rules: 


Library of Congress (silent) footage of  the quake itself:



And, lastly, a recent documentary on the disaster:



Want more? Check out Google images of the earthquake.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting these.

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  2. Eerily fascinating.
    Traffic isn't much better today!

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  3. Wonderful. What a bustling city. No traffic control, lights, or markings; not much sign of government, no problems. Just freedom and the free market at work!

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  4. The date cited for the first video is incorrect. Most if not all of the cars seen in the street are Ford model Ts introduced in 1908 - the first mass produced automobile.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. The Ford Model T is seen frequently in the "BEFORE" film clip. Since the Model T was introduced in 1908, the film clip is mis-dated to 1906; it must have been filmed after 1908.

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