The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

April 18 — The San Francisco Earthquake (estimated magnitude 7.8) on the San Andreas Fault destroys much of San Francisco, California, killing at least 3,000

As Hurricane Florence bears down on the East coast of the USA, it would be amiss not to mention what happened across on the other side of the continent 112 years  ago. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 remains vivid in a culture that has built (and built fairly high) on the ruins left behind after the 7.9 magnitude quake and (more importantly) the subsequent fires which killed up to 7000 people.

This clip shows quite what level of devastation the city suffered

…and this is perhaps the best documentary about the event, from PBS.

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  1. Pingback: The best laid plans | Centuries of Sound

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