On April 18th, 1906 at 5:12 in the morning, the coast of Northern California was hit by an earthquake that is considered to be the worst natural disaster in the state's history. The quake pre-dated the Richter scale measurement by thirty years; experts estimate the magnitude of the quake on the modern moment magnitude scale as anywhere from 7.8 to 8.25.
The earthquake caused deadly fires to break out, which weren't extinguished for several days. In the wake of the disaster, more than 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed.
This collection of photos gives one a feel of the devastation that the quake inflicted on the city.
Images: uncredited, Via Vintage Everyday
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Notice anything about the people in the photos? No one is wearing shorts or tank tops, tank tops that are too small so their bulging muffin tops aren't spilling out the bottom of. No one is in flip flops. These are times before rescue helicopters, air conditioning or GoFundMe. Everyone is dressed appropriately, respectfully, and their entire planet just collapsed. Now go look at photos from disasters in recent history and compare.
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