120th Anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake by Zina Abbott

Today, April 18, 2026, is the 120th anniversary of an event that is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters to strike California—the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. 

Map of destroyed section San Francisco, 1906

This earthquake began on a Wednesday morning at 5:12a.m. local time when many were still in bed and others were starting to prepare for their workday. The main shaking lasted forty to sixty seconds—long for an earthquake in this state. Between the destruction to buildings caused by the quake itself and the fires that followed, over eighty percent of San Francisco was destroyed, and 200,000 people were left homeless. 3,000 people perished.

California is known for its earthquakes. I have lived through several, including one in February of 1971 when I lived in Santa Monica, one in November of 1988 when I was visiting family in Orange County (my infamous “rocking sideways toilet” tale), and the well-known October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which interrupted the World Series in Oakland and collapsed two major sections of San Francisco Bay Area freeway. I felt it where I lived over one-hundred miles to the southeast while sitting in my car at an intersection waiting for the light to change. The quake was strong enough that I suffered motion sickness before it ended. That one was 6.9 on the Richter Scale at its epicenter in the Santa Cruz Mountains just south of the San Francisco Bay area.

The Richter Scale did not exist until 1935. However, from the geological studies performed at the time, it is estimated that the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was about 7.9 on the Richter Scale, with a rupture about 296 miles in length along the San Andreas fault. The epicenter was just south of San Francisco.

 

Waiting in a provisions line

Many affected residents who were able, dressed as quickly as they could in their best. However, because they feared the aftershocks might cause additional damage and trap them inside their buildings, few gathered many of their belongings to take with them as they fled their homes.

Below is a pictorial history of this earthquake.

Damage to homes:

 

Rescuing people from ruins

Houses on Howard St. (Now S. Van Ness) near 17th Street

 Damage to roads and infrastructure:

Overturned locomotive

Fissure in street

Union Street streetcar line damage

Damage to the Summit Tunnel shows how far the ground shifted

Road damage to Union Street

 Fires started as a result of the earthquake:

Sacramento Street. With nowhere to go, many residents in shock watched the fires approach, moving back as the flames grew closer.

Many structures that survived the earthquake fell to the flames

Firefighters fought the flames

 

Soldiers were called in to maintain order and guard banks. A few were caught looting.

 

Winchester Hotel burns after the earthquake. The Hearst Building (left) was dynamited to use as a fire break between the fire and the rest of the city.

The fire marshal ordered several buildings torn down to stop the fires.

Chinatown was destroyed

Refugees:

 

Food was sent from surrounding cities

Food lines

Food stored at Moulder Warehouse

Food received for Moulder Warehouse

Street kitchens

Refugees gathered at the Dewey Monument

After the destruction ends:

Post and Grant Avenue, looking NE

Observatory in ruins

View from Kearny Street

Market Street

Refugee housing:

Many San Franciscans crowded the ferries to cross the bay to Oakland, where structures still stood and the telegraph was still available. 

For a silent movie of San Franciscans riding the ferry to Oakland, which was filmed at the time, please click on the link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:San_Francisco_earthquake_and_fire,_April_18,_1906.webm

For those who stayed, temporary housing was provided.

Jefferson Street Refugee Camp

1 of 11 refugee shack camps

Refugee cottages preserved in Presidio Park

Refugee housing

 Rebuilding: 

Cleaning bricks

 

Clearing away debris

This as a disaster known across the nation, and one to which the nation responded with support as the city rebuilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are still with me, my upcoming release is dated between 1903 and 1908. My hero grew up in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, and returns to check on family once he learns of the earthquake.

Ardith Yosemite Bride is scheduled for release on May 6, 2026. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

   

 

 

 

Sources:

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons