California S Deadliest Earthquakes A History

A detailed look at the state’s most terrifying and destructive disasters—photos included. Home to hundreds of faults, California leads the nation in frequency of earthquakes every year. And despite enduring their share of the natural disasters, residents still speculate over the inevitable “big one.” More than three thousand people lost their lives during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Long Beach’s 1933 earthquake caused nearly $50 million in damages. And the Northridge earthquake injured thousands and left a $550 million economic hit. In this book, historian Abraham Hoffman explores the personal accounts and aftermath of California’s most destructive tremors.

Home to hundreds of faults, California leads the nation in frequency of earthquakes every year. Despite enduring their share of the natural disasters, residents still speculate over the inevitable big one. More than three thousand people lost their lives during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Long Beach's 1933 earthquake caused a loss of nearly $50 million in damages. And the Northridge earthquake injured thousands and left a $550 million economic hit. Historian Abraham Hoffman explores the personal accounts and aftermath of California's most destructive tremors.

Did you know that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake is thought to be one of the deadliest earthquakes in history? In the early morning of April 18th, 1906, in San Francisco, California, the ground heaved up. Buildings swayed like blades of grass and collapsed, and soon after, fires consumed everything in their path. It is believed that around three thousand people died, and almost all those left standing after the ground settled had become homeless. This book will take you on a journey of one of the most terrible earthquakes in recorded history. You will discover stories of average citizens just trying to survive and those courageous enough to face danger, whether it be fire or collapsing buildings. From the initial panic to battling crisis after crisis to incredible aftermath, the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake shows that history can be more captivating than fiction. In this book, you will learn about: The moment the quake hit and its immediate aftermath The terrifying fires that ripped through the city How dynamite saved the city from more damage Real eyewitness accounts of horrors, heroes, and heartbreaks How the city banded together to save itself and begin to rebuild Scroll up and click the "add to cart" button to learn more about the history of 1906 San Francisco Earthquake!

This official report on the devastating earthquake that struck San Francisco and the surrounding region in 1906 offers a detailed and sobering account of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. With eyewitness accounts, scientific analysis, and insights into the social and economic consequences of the quake, this book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of California, seismology, or disaster response. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The China Record provides readers with an ambitious, detailed, and wide-ranging examination of the People's Republic of China (PRC) under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) both as an alternative mode of political system and a distinctive model of socioeconomic development. Fei-Ling Wang assesses the record of the economy under the CCP, people's lives and rights, and China's spiritual and physical ecology. He focuses on issues of political representation, criminal justice, fiscal and monetary policies, state-led growth, living standards, academia and education, inequality and poverty, disaster relief and pandemic prevention, culture and ethics, and the protection of antiquities and the environment. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, The China Record seeks to provide a solid and balanced, yet unflinching, view about the nature, strengths, weaknesses, and implications of the PRC as an emerging superpower and a potential world leader. It is an effort to introduce a holistic evaluation of the CCP-PRC's overall efficacy, efficiency, power, sustainability, and desirability—or the lack thereof.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the earthquake and fires *Includes a bibliography for further reading "[I]t does not seem to have affected any one with a sense of final destruction, with any foreboding of irreparable disaster. Every one is talking of it this afternoon, and no one is in the least degree dismayed. I have talked and listened in two clubs, watched people in cars and in the street, and one man is glad that Chinatown will be cleared out for good; another's chief solicitude is for Millet's 'Man with the Hoe.' 'They'll cut it out of the frame,' he says, a little anxiously. 'Sure.' But there is no doubt anywhere that San Francisco can be rebuilt, larger, better, and soon. Just as there would be none at all if all this New York that has so obsessed me with its limitless bigness was itself a blazing ruin. I believe these people would more than half like the situation." - H.G. Wells On April 18, 1906, most of the residents of the city of San Francisco were sound asleep when the ground started to shake around 5:15 a.m., but what started as fairly soft tremors turned into a violent shaking in all directions. The roar of the earthquake unquestionably woke up residents, at least those fortunate enough not to be immediately swallowed by the cracks opening up in the ground. The earthquake lasted about a minute, but it had enough destructive force to divert the course of entire rivers and level much of the 9th largest city in America at the time. Unfortunately for San Franciscans, the worst was yet to come. During the earthquake, the city's gas mains and water mains were ruptured, which had the effects of starting a number of fires and preventing the residents from being equipped to fight them. Without water to truly fight the blaze, the city's officials actually resorted to demolishing buildings in hopes of containing the fire, and witnesses reported seeing San Franciscans trapped in the burning buildings being shot by authorities instead of letting them burn alive. The fires lasted three days, and by the time they were done, 80% of the city was in ruins, about 60% of the residents were homeless, and an estimated 3,000-6,000 were dead. In fact, the fires were so devastating that contemporary San Franciscans called the disaster "The Fire." Although the resulting fires may have done the most damage, the widespread destruction made clear to city leaders that the new buildings would need better safety codes and protection against subsequent earthquakes. The city reinforced new buildings against earthquakes and fixed older surviving buildings to better deal with future earthquakes, and the city also created the Auxiliary Water Supply System to prevent a repeat of the 1906 disaster. At the same time, there was a determined sense of resolve to rebuild San Francisco into a bigger and better city, and financial assistance flowed to the shattered city from all across the country. Even as refugee camps were set up in parks and sheltered people for a few years, the U.S. Army and other volunteers helped provide for the people, and despite suffering damage amounting to the equivalent of over $6 billion in today's dollars, California governor George C. Pardee was right when he predicted, "This is not the first time that San Francisco has been destroyed by fire, I have not the slightest doubt that the City by the Golden Gate will be speedily rebuilt, and will, almost before we know it, resume her former great activity." The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: The Deadliest Earthquake in American History chronicles the deadliest natural disaster in California's history and one of the most important seismic events on record. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 like never before, in no time at all.

A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder.​ “At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…comes up for air, and realizes she’s in love. That’s how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten.” —The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life’s work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool—a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.