The San Franisco Earthquake In 1906 San Francisco was the biggest city on the West Coast. Most people lived in wooden houses and rode trolley cars or cable cars to work or school. Very few people owned cars. On Wednesday, April 18, 1906 a huge earthquake hit the city. The earth shook for fifty seconds at 5:00 A.M. This seems like a short time, but for the people in the city it felt like an eternity. During the earthquake objects flew around the room, glass broke, and people could not stand still. Three hours later at 8:00 a second earthquake hit the city. Four hundred and ninety 490 city blocks were destroyed. Streets were left twisted and cracked. Telephone wires were dangling from broken poles. Trees were pulled up by their roots. Collapsed buildings were just piles of bricks. A total of 25,000 buildings were destroyed. The ground split. Animals cried and ran in terror. Water pipes busted and water spurted up from the ground. Damage estimates topped $350,000,000 People ran in the streets trying to escape the fires. They gathered where ever they could find water. City officials believed between 450 and 700 people were killed. . For three days and nights fires burned in the city. When it died down there was little left of the city. Scientists measured the earthquake as an 8 on the Richter Scale. Later the estimated deaths totaled more than 3000. Relief stations gave free food and clothing to the people who were left without homes. Bread lines were formed throughout the city. Only five days after the earthquake the post office was delivering mail. It was months before most of the city returned to work. School children didn't return to school until September.
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Lost in the Woods
