Reposted from April 18, 2011
The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, April 18, 1906, stretches the imagination as to understanding the widespread destruction of our fair city. Natural disasters throughout our shrinking planet have let us to better able comprehend the impact such horrors present to human beings. We can recall most recently the earthquakes of Japan on March 11, 2011, Abruzzo, Italy on April 6, 2009, and in the Sichuan Province of Central China on May 12, 2008, Hurricane Katrina and the Levee Breaks of August 2005, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004.
Those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 can’t forget the Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17.The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco is gathering more data, spearheaded by Gladys Hansen San Francisco City Archivist Emeritus and Curator of the Museum,
In response to repeated requests through our website we are setting out to compile a new and more accurate account of those affected by the 1906 earthquake. We want information on everyone who was here at the time, both survivors and those who perished.
See the Great Register to share your family history and to read about what it was like at the time. Selections young readers might enjoy include: The Great Quake by Beth Geiger (National Geographic Explorer Journal, April 2006), The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 by Bryan Brown (Junior Scholastic Journal, March 27, 2006), Shake, Rattle and Roar! (Junior Scholastic, March 27, 2006), If You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake by Ellen Levine, The Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep, and A Song for Sung Li by Pamela Dell. These are all available at the San Francisco Public Library searched with keyword San Francisco Earthquake.
How prepared are you? Check out with your family San Francisco’s 72hours.org for advice on how to prepare your family for natural and human made disasters.
Graphic from http://www.kahnfoundation.org/images/sf_fire.png
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