Katrina vs SF 1906

From http://www.livejournal.com/users/anguisetteowner/339297.html


"Here is a timeline to use in comparing the government reaction in New Orleans to the government reaction the last time an American city was destroyed—The San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906:

* The earthquake struck at 5:13 AM.
* By 7 AM federal troops had reported to the mayor.
* By 8 AM they were patrolling the entire downtown area and searching for survivors.
* The second quake struck at 8:14 AM.
* By 10:05 AM the USS Chicago was on its way from San Diego to San Francisco; by 10:30 the USS Preble
had landed a medical team and set up an emergency hospital.
* By 11 AM large parts of the city were on fire; troops continued to arrive throughout the day,
evacuating people from the areas threatened by fire to emergency shelters and Golden Gate Park.
* St. Mary's hospital was destroyed by the fire at 1 PM, with no loss of life, the staff and patients
having already been evacuated across the bay to Oakland.
* By 3 PM troops had shot several looters, and dynamited buildings to make a firebreak; by five they
had buried dozens of corpses, the morgue and the police pistol range being unable to hold any more.
* At 8:40 PM General Funston requested emergency housing - tents and shelters - from the War
Department in Washington; all of the tents in the U.S. Army were on their way to San Francisco by 4:55 AM the next morning.
* Prisoners were evacuated to Alcatraz, and by April 20 (two days after the earthquake) the USS
Chicago had reached San Francisco, where it evacuated 20,000 refugees.
Note-- this was an earthquake which, unlike the hurricane, came without warning. Not only that, it was in 1906; telephones were barely in use.
Source for times and dates: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/06timeline.html
found at the Daily Kos, via thebitingfairy"


Thanks Brian!

Laurie made this comment,

Note-- this was an earthquake which, unlike the hurricane, came without warning. Not only that, it was in 1906; telephones were barely in use.

That final note on the post was exactly what I was thinking the whole time I was reading it. Amazing.

Susan made this comment,

Yes, amazing isn't it? When I used to travel frequently to San Fransisco, I used to like to stay at this small hotel off of Union Square called the King George which has survived the 1906 quake