Early Monday morning saw the return of the in-person Lotta’s Fountain earthquake anniversary ceremony, yet only 33 minutes before, a little 2.6 magnitude quake struck just south of Gilroy.
If your Hunky Jesus Sunday turned into a hungover Monday, you may not have realized that this morning was the 116th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. And as we do, a smattering of San Franciscans gathered at Lotta's Fountain at 5:12 a.m. in Edwardian cosplay on this morning of April 18. Yet in a fun twist (fun because nothing bad happened), the US Geological Service informs us there was an actual earthquake about four miles southwest of Gilroy that hit at 4:38 a.m.
As San Franciscans, we encourage you all today, on the anniversary of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, to take simple steps to prepare for earthquakes. Don’t know how? Well, here are some tips for you from our 1906 “survivors”! pic.twitter.com/oE3Eir9IgN
— San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (@SF_emergency) April 18, 2022
The Chronicle covered the anniversary celebration today — and it was technically also held last year, but was very small and was not announced. Returning to his traditional role as emcee, former 49ers stadium announcer Bob Sarlatte bellowed his welcome, “Once again you hearty, crazy folks have come together at this ungodly hour to remember and honor the memories of those hearty San Franciscans who survived being tossed from their beds 116 years ago this morning.’’
Two people on Telegraph Hill look over the ruins of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire#OnThisDay, 116 years ago, at 5:12AM, a magnitude 7.9 quake and devastating fires ravaged the San Francisco Bay Area#OpenSFhistory #SanFrancisco #earthquakehttps://t.co/M9LuRdetxq pic.twitter.com/IM0xupXjQQ
— OpenSFHistory (@OpenSFHistory) April 18, 2022
How big was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake? It's estimated to have been a 7.9M quaek, and the US Geological Service describes it as “one of the most significant earthquakes of all time.” The USGS notes that “the earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada.” The computer simulation below gives you a sense of its size and severity, and yes, it did last for more than sixty seconds solid.
#WeRemember🕯 the San Francisco earthquake on 4/18/1906. Check out this computer simulation that recreates the ground motions to better understand the distribution of shaking & damage that accompanied the earthquake. @CAGeoSurvey @USGS_Quakes @Cal_OES @SF_emergency @calacademy pic.twitter.com/wP8Pru95hC
— USGS ShakeAlert (@USGS_ShakeAlert) April 18, 2022
From there, a few observers also went to the Golden Hydrant, the little hydrant that could next to Dolores Park, which because it was one of the only hydrants functioning after the quake is credited with saving the Mission District in the three days of subsequent fires that broke out across the city.
Sunrise today on the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. It's always hard to wake up to visit the Golden Hydrant, but the experience and views are worth it. (And I got two Kiri sightings in one weekend: https://t.co/eTMPLNHDse)! pic.twitter.com/yjk3pbNGG7
— Urban Hiker SF (@UrbanHikerSF) April 18, 2022
And this is an important reminder. Earthquakes may seem like just a fun Twitter exercise for us these days, but deadly earthquakes do still happen. Eventually, one of ours will be. The Hayward Fault is probably going to blow one day soon, so check out Ready.Gov’s Basic Disaster Supplies Kit, and make a point of putting together that go-bag.
Image: @SFAC via Twitter
