How Did The 1906 Earthquake Affected San Francisco
San Francisco is located in northern California, a hilly city at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The city has a fairly large population of 400,000 people, however, it wasn’t always large. The California Gold Rush of 1848 turned a small population into what it is now. It became America’s largest city west of the Mississippi River until 1920 when it lost its title to Los Angeles. All that changed when the 1906 earthquake struck. On April 18, 1906 at 5:12 a.m. an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter just offshore of San Francisco, struck, lasting around one minute. Just weeks before this earthquake, San Francisco was a busy city full of excitement and everyday activity, not knowing
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The death toll was uncertain, but they estimated it being around 3,000 people dead, and more than 200,000 were left homeless. San Francisco was the ninth largest city in 1906, with a population of about 400,000. The earthquake had a huge natural impact on San Francisco.
During the earthquake, the gas lines were destroyed, and because the city contained wood and the buildings were made out of flammable material, a huge conflagration broke out in San Francisco. The temperature of the flames got up to 2,700 degrees. This fire lasted for three days and at least five hundred city blocks were destroyed. A major impact the earthquake had on San Francisco was the destruction of their water supply. This made the conflagration apt to destroy more because the area had little to no defense against it.
Not only this, but it had severe impacts on the area economically. More than 400 million dollars in damaged property were lost in 1906. In today’s economy, that would be 8.2 billion dollars. 80 million dollars were lost from the earthquake alone. Over 28,000 buildings burned down, all within a 4.7 mile radius. This natural disaster caused problems dealing with insurance as well. Some insurers satisfied claims, some paid and raised premiums, and some went away, leaving many people without
The death toll was uncertain, but they estimated it being around 3,000 people dead, and more than 200,000 were left homeless. San Francisco was the ninth largest city in 1906, with a population of about 400,000. The earthquake had a huge natural impact on San Francisco.
During the earthquake, the gas lines were destroyed, and because the city contained wood and the buildings were made out of flammable material, a huge conflagration broke out in San Francisco. The temperature of the flames got up to 2,700 degrees. This fire lasted for three days and at least five hundred city blocks were destroyed. A major impact the earthquake had on San Francisco was the destruction of their water supply. This made the conflagration apt to destroy more because the area had little to no defense against it.
Not only this, but it had severe impacts on the area economically. More than 400 million dollars in damaged property were lost in 1906. In today’s economy, that would be 8.2 billion dollars. 80 million dollars were lost from the earthquake alone. Over 28,000 buildings burned down, all within a 4.7 mile radius. This natural disaster caused problems dealing with insurance as well. Some insurers satisfied claims, some paid and raised premiums, and some went away, leaving many people without