Today the History Channel did a segment about the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. In addition to the damage to the buildings brought about by the quake and aftershocks, there were fires burning for 3 days that decimated over 50 blocks of the city. Many people lost their homes, and set up impromptu tents like the ones in the pic.(If you want to read about the details of the aftermath, please see the links below.)
The death total has been estimated between 300 and 500 officially, but since the individual names of the people who passed away in the quake or the fires have not been recorded by the city officials, leaving many unanswered questions. A lot of the historians that talk about the quake seem to think that many more people than 400 died, likely at least 1000. No one appears to know for sure.
The donations for assistance and rebuilding efforts totaled $10 million in 1906 US dollars. My
historical currency calculator says that $10 in 1906 dollars is today $244 in 2008 dollars, although I am not sure if that takes purchasing power into consideration, or inflation only. So, $244,000,000, or a quarter billion, dollars was certainly generous to the people in San Francisco.Since food was not coming into the city and many residents didn't have the means to feed themselves as they did prior to the disaster, the Federal gov't set up a food station where people who needed meals could come enjoy for free. The line stretched for blocks. The private sector was also very useful. Women from as far away as Utah put freshly baked loaves of bread onto trains going to San Francisco. One reason there are so many pics of the damage is because Kodak was selling a popular camera in 1905 that a lot of people possessed, and used to record the many scenes.
The tent cities were useful in helping people who had lost their homes yet wanted to stay in town. Building codes were adjusted to more closely resemble their modern state during the rebuilding process to acknowledge the possibility of future quakes. The city is on the San Andreas fault, and the possibility of the Golden Gate Bridge being toppled by quake higher than 8 on the Richter scale exists today. One of the things that caught my attention was that after the quake, the Southern Pacific Railroad company transported 300K people into and out of the city for 9 post quake days FOR FREE. The citizens of San Francisco helped each other as best they could, the Federal gov't stepped up, the private sector provided greatly needed aid, and Southern Pacific selflessly transported people and cargo in a time of crisis without mandating payment.
Why was such a response, relatively orderly, done at at time where telephones aren't a given the way they are now, not possible after Hurricane Katrina? Why was there not Federal government camps set up with food & meds for the people in need? The FEMA people/ Feds had to know that the trucks that normally brought food into the city wouldn't be doing so with the town underwater, and those who stayed behind with a home under water might need food to eat?
The private sector did assist after Katrina, and my remarks are not aimed at the thousands of people that traveled to New Orleans on their own dime to help those in need. I am very proud of those Americans, as I am of the additional thousands unable to travel who selflessly donated money and supplies. My digs, as usual, are directed right at the Bush admin for the failure of the post Katrina assistance that was so badly needed in New Orleans. Reviewing the national response to the San Francisco quake & aftermath in 1906 reminds me of how disasters SHOULD be responded to. Given the gap in technology between 1906 and 2006, I am very impressed with the efforts after the quake and disappointed by those following Katrina. In my opinion, part of the job of the Federal gov't is to attend to those effected by natural disasters, part of why we all pay taxes, in an efficient and effective way. Again, I do not understand why the Bush administration failed so miserably in responding to Katrina, and why nothing has been done to prevent such a poor federal reaction from happening again. Thoughts? Responses?
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=4493
http://www.sfgate.com/greatquake/
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/08/05/161-map-of-the-san-francisco-quake-and-fire-1906/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake
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