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Death and destruction have been the fate of San Francisco. Shaken by a tremble at 5:13 o'clock yesterday morning...and scourged by flames that raged diametrically in all directions, the city is a mass of smoldering ruins.... After darkness, thousands of the homeless were making their way with their blankets and scant provisions to Golden Gate Park and the beach to find shelter.... Everybody in San Francisco is prepared to leave the city, for the belief is firm that San Francisco will be totally destroyed.... From the "Call-Chronicle-Examiner" newspaper   The devastating power of earthquakes is well known. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and its resulting fires (pictured here) caused approximately 3,000 deaths and over $500,000,000 dollars worth of damage. Other earthquakes have been even more destructive. An earthquake which struck Shansi, China in 1556 killed over 800,000 people. Closer to home, on 26 January 1700, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred on the Cascadia Fault, on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island. Because this earthquake occurred before European explorers made contact with the First Nations of British Columbia, scientists discovered information about the earthquake through records in Japan (who were hit by a massive tidal wave) and through traditional stories from the First Nations history. (Natural Resources Canada). The worst earthquake to hit Canada occurred on August 22, 1949 in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. Reaching a magnitude of 8.1, the earthquake was felt for kilometres out from the epicentre.     What causes earthquakes to occur, and how can their effects be mitigated? Click on the links to the left to begin your exploration of earthquakes. |