Compare And Contrast The San Francisco Earthquake And Fire Of 1906

The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 Imagine someone lying in bed, the sun has yet to rise when suddenly, everything around this person shakes violently, a thunderous roar deafens this person, the plates fall off the counter and break, furniture is being tossed around as if they were plush toys. He walks outside and see the surrounding neighbor hood completely destroyed. This is how the residents of San Francisco awoke at 5:12 A.M. on April 18, 1906 (Washington Times 1906). This earthquake caused major damage, and sparked a fire which burned down most of the city, killing thousands of people. This is the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 which left the city in ruins, deeply affected the Chinese residents, and also brought

It was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which shook the city for 60 seconds (Ewers 2006). The power of this earthquake broke the underground pipes that were connected to the city’s water reserves, which would later prove to be fatal to the city (Ewers 2006). This meant that when the fire broke out, firefighters weren’t able to use fire hydrants since no water came This also allowed the fire to continue to spread throughout the city along with strong winds to help. People were forced to evacuate their homes, and take whatever belongings they could. Some people even slept on sidewalks, in case their home caught fire while they slept (Livingston n.d.). According to Justin Ewer’s, “Nightmare in San Francisco”, “Five hundred city blocks were burned. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people died.” After the disaster, the total cost of the damage done

Initially, the community was in tatters. The death of Fire Chief Sullivan had hurt the morale early on (The Washington Times 1906). According to a newspaper by The Washington Times, the earthquake and fire caused 20 million dollars in damage to the city. This meant thousands of people lost their homes and became refugees. Howard Livingston, witnessed the effects of the earthquake on the community. In his transcript, “Memories of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906”, he stated that there were volunteers to help distribute supplies to the refugees who couldn’t buy their food. The army had also provided tents to the refugees that lost their homes. Some of these people lived in these tents for up to a year (Livingston n.d.). They formed a communities in public parks; people who were a part of these communities helped one another out regardless of their race. People worked together, and volunteered to help clean the city (Livingston n.d.). One big reason why people helped each other was out of fear. Police were instructed to shoot at anyone who tried to loot a store (Winchester 312). People who lost their homes were sometimes taken in by friends or family members who still had their home intact (Livingston n.d.). However, it wasn’t long before the city began to rebuild itself. In Livingston’s, “Memories of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906”, he stated that what