Mega Disasters: 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

By the dawn of the 20th century, San Francisco had evolved into one of the most booming metropolises in North America, with commerce, trade, manufacturing, arts and culture at meteoric levels. But an event that struck the city at 5:12am on April 18, 1906 wrought such cataclysmic devastation that it threatened to bring all of this toppling down. The San Francisco Earthquake checked in as one of the most severe quakes in the history of North America; at least 3,000 deaths occurred (with many unreported at the time), fires broke out, buildings crumbled, and the total devastation exceeded $6 billion in early 21st century dollars. As produced for the History Channel documentary series Mega Disasters, this program recounts that terrifying catastrophe, supplemented by vintage photographs of the disaster, and CG-animation speculating on similar crises that may lie ahead thanks to the instability of the Californian seismic faults.