![]() ![]() Funston and his officers, as well as the Mayor and members of the Citizen's Committee, watched in silence as three blocks of expensive houses fell every twenty minutes. Captain Coleman described the complicated and hazardous work of the dynamiting party: "The charges often had to be laid in buildings already on fire the dynamite had to be carried by hand through showers of sparks the wires constantly shortened by repeated explosions, could be replaced only by climbing poles in the burning district and cutting down street wires."īy the evening of April 19, the army began preparations to create the firebreak at an east-west division of the city along Van Ness Avenue with its affluent mansions. Following civilian evacuation of the condemned city blocks, the dangerous task began. Though the strategy was risky, the Committee had few other options and eventually agreed to demolish some buildings in order to save others. ![]() With a situation map at hand, Funston outlined his plan to stop the fires through the use of dynamite. Such caution hampered Coleman's progress until Wednesday night, when General Funston met with the Citizen's Committee-the Mayor's appointed relief and recovery organization. The total loss of life by a factor of 3 or 4.Captain Le Vert Coleman of the Presidio Artillery Corps reported, "During the first day of the fire, and until the evening of the second day, the city authorities withheld their permission to blow up buildings except those in immediate contact with those already ablaze." The frequently quoted value of 700 deaths causedīy the earthquake and fire is now believed to underestimate However, was equally severe in many other places along theįault rupture. ![]() It spawned in San Francisco, giving it the somewhat misleadingĪppellation of the "San Francisco earthquake". Mind, this earthquake is perhaps remembered most for the fire The most important study of a single earthquake. (1908) report remains the authoritative work, as well as arguably Modern seismic-zonation practice accounts for the differences in seismic hazard posed by varying geologic conditions.Īs a basic reference about the earthquake and the damage itĬaused, geologic observations of the fault rupture and shakingĮffects, and other consequences of the earthquake, the Lawson Areas situated in sediment-filled valleys sustained stronger shaking than nearby bedrock sites, and the strongest shaking occurred in areas where ground reclaimed from San Francisco Bay failed in the earthquake. One important characteristic of the shaking intensity noted in Lawson's (1908) report was the clear correlation of intensity with Of VII to IX paralleled the length of the rupture, extending as far as 80 kilometers inland from the fault trace. The highest Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMI's) Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Of the earthquake source, which remains today the principalĪt almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the Sanįrancisco Bay area. The advent of plate tectonics more than half a century later.Īnalysis of the 1906 displacements and strain in the surroundingĬrust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound theory Large cumulative offset would not be fully appreciated until Indeed, the significance of the fault and recognition of its Large, horizontal displacements and great rupture length. The earthquake confounded contemporary geologists with its San Juan Bautista to the triple junction at Cape Mendocino, Rupturing the northernmostĢ96 miles (477 kilometers) of the San Andreas fault from northwest of Today, its importanceĬomes more from the wealth of scientific knowledge derivedįrom it than from its sheer size. The most significant earthquakes of all time. The California earthquake of Apranks as one of (from Steinbrugge Collection of the UC Berkeley Earthquake Engineering Research San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 Earthquake. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |