It’s been over a century since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake tore the city apart, but the shock waves from this catastrophe still reverberate across time. On a seemingly normal April morning, the city’s residents awoke to one of the worst natural disasters in American history.
The quake itself lasted just 42 seconds, but the damage was apparent almost instantly. Buildings had toppled, gas mains had ruptured, and severe cracks had appeared in the roads. But the devastation was far from over. Shortly after the ground stopped shaking, several fires ignited throughout the city — destroying many structures that had survived the quake.
It’s estimated that 500 city blocks — comprised of 28,000 buildings — were reduced to husks of their former selves. More than half of San Francisco residents had become homeless in the seeming blink of an eye. And by the time the dust had settled, nearly 80 percent of the city had been left in utter ruins. Most horrific of all, 3,000 people had died.
Back in those days — near the end of the Wild West era — many cities like San Francisco were largely comprised of wooden and brick buildings. While these structures may have looked beautiful, they were extremely vulnerable to earthquakes…