On April 18, 1906, San Francisco was literally shocked by a terrible event - an earthquake. A powerful jolt shook the earth at 5:20. As soon as the citizens of the city came to their senses, after 20 seconds there was a severe blow, and then, like snow, a series of less strong, but sufficient destructive vibrations fell ...
Horrible morning
In the entire history of the existence of a city in the state of California, there have not been so large-scale, destroying disasters as on this fateful day. The beautiful city lived an ordinary measured life, gradually developed, filled with residents. Beautiful buildings were erected, factories, schools, shops with bright signs functioned ... But at one moment the splendor of the city buildings was completely destroyed, turning into a charred pile of stones, sadness and grief.
The residents of San Francisco, instead of Good Morning, were woken up at 5 a.m. on April 18 by a strong shake, the sound of an explosion and a deafening siren. Underground blows intensified and spread throughout the street, breaking granite roads, breaking the walls of houses ...
The San Francisco earthquake caused enormous damage to residents of the city not only by the fact of what happened, but also by the ensuing series of fires. A devouring flame spread throughout the streets of the city. Most of the population of San Francisco was left homeless. In destructive flames, houses, buildings, cars, animals, people disappeared ... The fire lasted more than 3 days.
Most contemporaries recalled how powerful the amplitude of the blows and the destructive power of the elements was. Tremors threw people off the beds, windows and walls scattered. Many significant architectural buildings crumbled in one second, like sand castles, killing dozens of human lives.
However, some Americans are used to finding benefits in any circumstances. Most citizens, taking advantage of the catastrophic situation, set fire to their property in order to get insurance. The desire for money prevailed over human qualities. The motive for the actions was that the buildings were insured against fire, and not from an earthquake.
Strong earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake brought its victims and destruction. After the disaster, about a thousand people were officially declared dead, but later it turned out that the number of victims was close to 3000.
Chinatown Destruction
Chinatown, Chinatown in the heart of the city, was in the midst of an earthquake. The main part of the blow, destruction and the number of victims fell on this particular site. The disaster caused huge losses to the quarter. The fire in the area was caused by a burning mattress that flew during a strong push into this part of the city.
When the San Francisco earthquake ceased, a sad picture appeared in front of the residents - Chinatown was almost destroyed.
After the incident, the authorities decided to move the area of Chinese emigrants away from the central part of the city. But later, during the reconstruction, the quarter was restored, the houses were rebuilt, and Chinatown remained in the same place.
Furious Element
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is one of the most devastating disasters of the twentieth century. The power of the tremors was at least 8.6 on the Richter scale, and the force of the blows was equal to the explosion of thirty nuclear bombs.
Like houses of cards, tall buildings fell apart, pipes fell apart, houses went underground. Tram rails and electric wires were torn apart like threads, asphalt rose up a hill, stones scattered in different directions.
One catastrophe brought terrible consequences: the devouring flames and powerful shocks destroyed the water supply and gas pipelines, which provoked the leakage of gasoline and the spread of fire. The work of firefighters was greatly hampered by the lack of water. Time passed, every second was expensive. Water began to be pumped from nearby ditches, wells and other water supplies, but natural fires moved too fast, swallowing one building after another.
In the affluent area, a large amount of expensive wine was used to extinguish the flames.
Crimes of Marauders
The devastating earthquake in San Francisco created a terrible panic and confusion among the townspeople. People gathered their belongings in haste and tried to leave the city. In the first seconds of the strike, about 800 people died under the rubble of decaying buildings and tremors. Several hundred people were injured while on the pavement and city streets, which were littered with piles of stones and concrete from destructive buildings.
However, the thirst for profit provoked looters to commit vile crimes even in these terrible minutes. Gangs of intruders rushing through the streets of San Francisco robbed abandoned houses, dilapidated shops, and retail outlets. The bandits did not disdain the dead, the victims of the earthquake, lying along roads and bridges. They rummaged through their pockets, took off their clothes. A certain general Frederick Fanton decided to stop this disgrace, taking control of the situation. Martial law was introduced in the city and the situation was strictly monitored. The police were given the command to shoot to kill at the sight of looters. About 500 people died from the "dirty tricks": angry, desperate residents meeting the criminals immediately fixed the lynching. The bandits were ruthlessly beaten and lynched on the spot.
Basement Rat Attack
On April 18, 1906, San Francisco resembled hell. Another misfortune of the inhabitants was the invasion of rats: fires in the basement drove out hordes of plague-infected rats. A huge cloud of rodents swept through the streets of the city, attacking people in a frantic attack. Biting random passers-by, rats and mice carried infections, plague, and other infectious diseases that previously lurked in sewers and basements. Later, an epidemic was declared in the city, many plague-infected residents of San Francisco were dying in terrible agony.
Disaster Management
After the San Francisco earthquake, it took a long time to clear up the consequences. The picture of the affected city was sad. Destroyed buildings, burnt ruins, torn road surface - once it was a modern, rebuilt settlement. The damage caused by the disaster amounted to about 400 million dollars. The total population of the city was 410 thousand people, most of them were left without a roof over their heads. On a local beach, a temporary tent camp was set up for those who were left homeless.
Many banks burned down along with all their savings, and those that survived, on the orders of the authorities, gave money to the victims of the fire to restore or build housing.
Five hundred quarters, including schools, libraries, theaters, churches, monasteries, the city hall and private houses, suffered from a devastating fire disaster.
Modern san francisco
The state of California, where San Francisco is located, has not yet felt such a powerful earthquake in its entire history.
At the moment, the city is flourishing and expanding, with about 3 million inhabitants living in it.
In the mid-twentieth century, a stable skyscraper with 48 floors was built in San Francisco. Project engineers claimed that the building is immune to any kind of earthquake and can withstand any shock.
Every year, the city undergoes about 20 tremors, but no buildings are destroyed and do not suffer from constant earthquakes. After the catastrophe in 1906, builders gained valuable experience in the construction of structures so that no natural disasters do harm.
However, scientists suggest that if such an element once again hit the city, the consequences could be more devastating than a century ago, and there would be many more victims among the population of San Francisco than in 1906. If the terrible catastrophe that happened a century ago were repeated now, it would have brought more destruction and human casualties. Scientists are making every effort to prevent the destructive effect of a possible earthquake.