The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

At 5.12 in the morning the San Andreas fault ruptured for 477 kilometres. The shaking lasted less than a minute; the fires that followed burned for three days, fed by broken gas mains and fought with broken water mains.

Around three thousand people died and more than half the city's population was left homeless, many camping for months in Golden Gate Park. The official death toll was kept low at the time to protect investment in the city.