San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
Jason L Cook (4097527)
American Public University System
May 24, 2015
HIST102: American History Since 1877
Professor Robert Young
The earthquake of 1906, although only lasting less than a minute caused an extensive amount of personnel and property damage not only from the quake, but the fires that followed. Many of the citizen affected by the incident refused to leave the city creating additional chaos. Rebuilding began almost immediately and within three years restored as the economic hub of the west. The catastrophe caused more property damage than any other in the United States having a large financial and economic impact. On April 18 1906 an earthquake with …show more content…
Buildings were not required to have sprinkler systems and only 54 buildings in the city were fireproofed. Combining the highly combustible construction, buildings densely packed close together and narrow streets allowed the fires to spread quickly. The fire department used dynamite attempting to create fire breaks, due to an inefficient supply of water, but only contributed by creating additional fires. San Francisco was not prepared for the catastrophic event. Within days 100,000 residents refused to leave the city bringing their belongings to parks, vacant lots, and beachfront. The Mayor declared the city to be under martial law. Soldiers distributed aid and guarded property. Initially aid and assistance was as chaotic as the disaster itself. The Federal government was not prepared and did not have an effective relieve policy. Local political, business, and charity leaders, working with the American Red Cross developed the San Francisco …show more content…
W.J. Bartnett, chief consul for the railroad, wrote a letter to the San Francisco Mayor Eugene Schmitz. The letter provided several possible solutions to effectively recover from the catastrophic earthquake and fires, emphasizing the importance to minimize the effects to prevent destabilization and collapse of Eastern money markets. The earthquake and fires of 1906 in San Francisco is the worst catastrophe in the United States to-date regarding damages and losses. Loss estimates were equivalent to 28 billion dollars in 2005 surpassing the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Hurricane Katrina. Insurance companies did not have clear policies and procedures complicating insurance pay outs. Many insurance companies increased rates and some restricted policies in large cities. Continental Insurance was the first to finish payments for the disaster reporting a net loss of 1.8 billion
Jason L Cook (4097527)
American Public University System
May 24, 2015
HIST102: American History Since 1877
Professor Robert Young
The earthquake of 1906, although only lasting less than a minute caused an extensive amount of personnel and property damage not only from the quake, but the fires that followed. Many of the citizen affected by the incident refused to leave the city creating additional chaos. Rebuilding began almost immediately and within three years restored as the economic hub of the west. The catastrophe caused more property damage than any other in the United States having a large financial and economic impact. On April 18 1906 an earthquake with …show more content…
Buildings were not required to have sprinkler systems and only 54 buildings in the city were fireproofed. Combining the highly combustible construction, buildings densely packed close together and narrow streets allowed the fires to spread quickly. The fire department used dynamite attempting to create fire breaks, due to an inefficient supply of water, but only contributed by creating additional fires. San Francisco was not prepared for the catastrophic event. Within days 100,000 residents refused to leave the city bringing their belongings to parks, vacant lots, and beachfront. The Mayor declared the city to be under martial law. Soldiers distributed aid and guarded property. Initially aid and assistance was as chaotic as the disaster itself. The Federal government was not prepared and did not have an effective relieve policy. Local political, business, and charity leaders, working with the American Red Cross developed the San Francisco …show more content…
W.J. Bartnett, chief consul for the railroad, wrote a letter to the San Francisco Mayor Eugene Schmitz. The letter provided several possible solutions to effectively recover from the catastrophic earthquake and fires, emphasizing the importance to minimize the effects to prevent destabilization and collapse of Eastern money markets. The earthquake and fires of 1906 in San Francisco is the worst catastrophe in the United States to-date regarding damages and losses. Loss estimates were equivalent to 28 billion dollars in 2005 surpassing the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Hurricane Katrina. Insurance companies did not have clear policies and procedures complicating insurance pay outs. Many insurance companies increased rates and some restricted policies in large cities. Continental Insurance was the first to finish payments for the disaster reporting a net loss of 1.8 billion