Ceremonies to honour victims of 1906 San Francisco earthquake

By Hishan Welmilla in San Francisco 

Ceremonies were held across San Francisco to honour the victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake on Monday.

It was 110 years ago an earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on 18 April with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.8. A total of 3,000 people died in that quake, and 80% of San Francisco was destroyed by the fires that raged for days. It’s remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in US history.

Survivors came to Lotta’s Fountain to post notices, looking for family or friends amid the rubble. Every year the earthquake is remembered at the fountain with a ceremony.

This is the first anniversary without any survivors. The last known survivor, Bill Delmonte, passed away in January. Three generations of his family attended the memorial in his honour.

In addition, those who gathered at 5:12 a.m. to mark the exact time the earthquake hit in San Francisco also took time to note those who have recently suffered in Ecuador and Japan. In Ecuador an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck Sunday, with the death toll rising past 415.

And in Japan, two earthquakes struck last week, with magnitudes of 7.0 and 6.2, which killed 35 people and injured nearly 200.

While these recent quakes hit internationally, people in the US – specifically the West Coast – are at risk for one any time. The long-term average for a large earthquake in Southern California is every 150 years – the last large one in Southern California was Fort Tejon in 1857 – so now it has just past that mark.