A review of PBS’s “The Great San Francisco Earthquake”

The worst natural disaster suffered by a North American city in the twentieth century …

In 1906, San Francisco was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in American history. It was the Great San Francisco Earthquake. It was the largest natural disaster to be suffered by a North American city in the twentieth century. Specifically, at 5:12 a.m. on April 18th (as the PBS webpage puts it), “San Francisco residents were awakened by a 40-second tremor that moved furniture, shattered glass, and toppled chimneys. After a 10-second interval, an even stronger tremor struck, lasting 25 seconds.” (Source: PBS’s webpage on this program) As PBS also notes, “Movement along the San Andreas Fault was to blame. The North American and Pacific tectonic plates had moved past each other by more than 15 feet — compared to an annual average of two inches. The earthquake is estimated to have measured 8.3 on the Richter scale, which had not yet been invented. Survivors saw the ground move in waves as high as three feet. The earthquake ripped open streets, twisted streetcar rails, and split sidewalks.” (Source: Same as above)

The earthquake was followed by fires, which proved even worse than the quake itself

The earthquake itself was devastating, despite lasting less than two minutes in all. But its after-effects would prove even more deadly than the quake itself. This was because the earthquake had overturned stoves, and damaged the local electrical wiring. This created massive fires that burned out of control for days. Damage to the water pipes made it hard, and at times impossible, to bring water to put out these fires. Thus, the fires continued until they eventually burned themselves out three days later. As PBS also puts it, “Destruction in [the fire’s] 4.7-square-mile path was complete. More than 28,000 buildings had been destroyed, resulting in an estimated $500 million in damage — an amount equal to the federal budget of 1906.” (Source: PBS website) Since the earthquake had destroyed hospital buildings, there were few facilities available to treat the wounded and the dying. Thus, it was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The official number of casualties was only 311, but as PBS estimates, “it is now believed that approximately 3,000 people perished. About 250,000 people (two-thirds of the city's population) were left homeless. They were temporarily sheltered in tents placed in public parks. These were later replaced by one-room wooden structures.” (Source: PBS website)

The fires that followed the San Francisco Earthquake

Soldiers are called in to help, and San Francisco soon rises from its own ashes

By the evening of the first day, 1700 soldiers had been brought in to help both the residents and the firefighters. Martial law was decreed, which helped to stop the looting that had run rampant in the city since the quake. In fairness to the looters, there were real shortages in the aftermath of the destruction, but the troops still had to put an end to all of this looting. Like all stealing, it was coming at the expense of others, who were just as victimized as the thieves. Relief eventually poured in from many states and foreign countries. Japan gave nearly a quarter of a million dollars, more than all of the other foreign countries combined. Like a phoenix, San Francisco arose from the ashes, and was able to move on. After a short while, it was as if the earthquake had never happened. Before the earthquake, San Francisco had barely been able to imagine how such a catastrophe was possible. After the earthquake, they again had difficulty imagining how it could happen, as the scenario seemed unlikely to repeat itself. There have been other earthquakes in American history, particularly in California. But of American earthquakes in the twentieth century, this one has no parallel.

Soldiers looting during the fire

Conclusion: A journalistic (but still good) primer, despite its unfortunate brevity

This documentary tells all of this story, along with many other details that I (unfortunately) must omit here for lack of time. My main complaint about this documentary is that it’s a bit journalistic. It’s as if we’re watching a news program that happens to be about events from 1906. There are good talking-head clips, and excellent pictures. But it still has an unfortunate journalistic feel to it. On the plus side, this film has the narration of the actor F. Murray Abraham, famous for his role in “Amadeus.” He helps to bring out the drama of the story, as shown in the photographs and real footage from the time. Some of these images are quite dramatic indeed. I still felt like this program could have been so much more than it was, but it’s nonetheless quite watchable. You’ll see the wrath of Mother Nature, as preserved in the pictures from the time. And you’ll hear actors dramatizing the eyewitness accounts from the written records, helping to bring this story to life. This story still has PBS’s personal touch, and helps to show how San Francisco recovered from the deadliest earthquake in American history.

DVD at Amazon

If you liked this post, you might also like:

A review of Ken Burns’ “The West” (PBS)

A review of PBS’s “Murder of a President” (American Experience)

A review of PBS’s “The Gilded Age” (American Experience)

A review of “Crucible of Empire: the Spanish-American War” (PBS)

A review of PBS’s “TR: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt” (American Experience)

A review of PBS’s “Woodrow Wilson” (American Experience)

A review of PBS’s “The Great War” (American Experience)

A review of PBS’s “Influenza 1918” (American Experience)