On the morning 12 past 5:00 San Francisco suffered a major
earthquake that killed 3000 people, the earthquake lasted for
about 40 seconds and was recorded at 8.3 on the Richter Scale.
People ran from there houses and some stayed inside the
buildings and were crushed. The people who ran in the streets
were killed by toppled buildings falling from above. There fire
department was efficient but the water pipes that go down the San
Andreas Fault were severed. The fire could not be stopped
because there were now water until the next couple of days. Gas
mains blew and caused massive fires all around the city. The
city was in the middle of a great economic boom and almost all
was lost on that day. The old buildings were never made to
withstand earthquakes and easily crumbled and fell crushed
people. Some sailers on the coast tried to leave but the waves
flew the boats around like toys. The buildings were made out of
unreined forced brick or wood which couldn't withstand a
earthquake of that magnitude.
After the earthquake, they noticed that the San Andreas
Fault shifted a 250-mile long section witch tore roads and
fences. Rivers, roads and power lines were severed and not
aligned with its surroundings. A road across the fault ended up
21 feet north of the road to the east same with the rivers and
creeks.
The earthquake's most damage were in Los Bonas 30km east of
the fault yet there was little damage along towns to the east
side of San Francisco Bay such as Berkely, 25km east of the
fault. And the capital of California Sacramento that was 120km
east of the rupture showed no damage.
Scientists found out that the earthquake originated north of
Oregon and south to Los Angeles a total of 1170 Km.
Knowing now that buildings could not withstand a earthquake
with unreiforced brick, the new San Francisco would have
buildings that can handle major earthquakes by constructing them
so that they sway back and fourth rather than just simply
crumbling to the ground killing people.
The San Andreas fault is formed by the Pacific plate sliding
north and the North American plate running South. The two slide
together caused the earthquake.
The most recent earthquake in that area today, was in 1990
in San Francisco which measured around 8.3 on the richter scale
but it wasn't a bad as the one in 1906.
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