In 1906, an unprecedented disaster destroyed one of America’s great cities. A massive earthquake, estimated at 8.25 on the Richter scale, tore San Francisco asunder and ignited a hellish inferno that burned for four days. More than 3,000 people died and 225,000 people out of a population of 400,000 were left homeless. Before Hurricane Katrina made landfall Aug. 29, the Great Earthquake and Fire was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. The quake hit without warning, early in the morning of April 18, 1906. Within hours, a national effort was under way to save the city, with troops and medical personnel deployed. A massive evacuation rescued 20,000 refugees by sea.
In 1906, there were no helicopters or C-130s, no buses or satellite phones, no computers or even a thorough understanding of earthquakes. Yet, the immediate response of federal, state and local government managed to save countless lives.
In 2005, with every advantage of technology, sophisticated planning and preparedness measures – not to mention billions of dollars spent to prepare for a disaster – the response to Hurricane Katrina and the flooding it spawned was unorganized, inefficient and slow.
Why, almost 100 years ago, was the country unable to martial a better response than it could on Aug. 29, even with days of warning?
Below is an abbreviated timeline of the San Francisco earthquake and fire from The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco (wwww.sfmuseum.org), and a partial timeline compiled from media reports about Hurricane Katrina and The Brookings Institution.
The Great Earthquake and Fire
April 18, 1906
• 5:13 a.m: Earthquake hits San Francisco. All telephone and telegraph communications stop within the city, although some commercial telegraph circuits to New York and India, via the Pacific cable at Ocean Beach, remain in temporary operation. The earthquake shock was felt from Coos Bay, Ore., to Los Angeles, and as far east as central Nevada, an area of about 375,000 square miles, approximately half of which was in the Pacific Ocean. The region of destructive effect extended from the southern part of Fresno County to Eureka, about 400 miles, and for a distance of 25 to 30 miles on either side of the fault zone.
• 6:30 a.m.: A messenger arrives at Fort Mason with orders for all available troops to report to the mayor.
• 7 a.m.: First army troops from Fort Mason arrive.
• 8 a.m.: The 10th, 29th, 38th, 66th, 67th, 70th and 105th companies of Coast Artillery, Troops I and K of the 14th Cavalry and the First, Ninth and 24th Batteries of Field Artillery arrive downtown. Soldiers from Companies C and D, Engineer Corps are also deployed.
• 8:14 a.m.: A major aftershock hits, causing panic and more damage.
• 10 a.m.: The headquarters and First Battalion of the 22nd Infantry arrive by boat from Fort McDowell.
• 10:05 a.m.: The DeForest Wireless Telegraph Station at San Diego radios press reports of the disaster at San Francisco to the USS Chicago. Admr. Caspar Goodrich immediately orders fires started under all boilers, and after a confirmation message from the mayor of San Diego, the Chicago steams at full speed for San Francisco. It is the first time wireless telegraphy is used in a major natural disaster.
• 10:30 a.m.: The USS Preble from Mare Island lands a hospital shore party.
• 11:30 a.m.: The 25th and 64th Companies Coast Artillery arrive from Fort Miley.
• Just before noon: Two earthquakes hit in Los Angeles, about 10 minutes apart. The quaking begins as crowds gathered around bulletin boards to read the latest telegraphic dispatches from San Francisco. Thousands run in panic.
• Noon: Evacuation of injured from Mechanics’ Pavilion, Grove and Larkin begins.
• 1 p.m.: St. Mary’s Hospital is abandoned to fire and the entire Financial District is ablaze. The Central Fire Alarm Station is abandoned.
• 2:30 p.m.: Military units dynamite buildings trying to construct a fire break.
• 3 p.m.: Mayor reports that three men have been shot for looting; appoints ex-Mayor James Phelan to head the relief committee.
• 8:40 p.m.: War Department receives request for thousands of tents and all available rations.
April 19, 1906
• 2 a.m.: Governor arrives in Oakland.
• 4 a.m.: Secretary of War orders 200,000 rations sent to San Francisco from Vancouver Barracks. All hospital, wall and conical tents from Vancouver, Forts Douglas, Logan, Snelling, Sheridan and Russell, from San Antonio and the Presidio are ordered to San Francisco.
• 4:55 a.m.: Secretary of War reports that all tents in the U.S. Army are en route to San Francisco.
• 6 p.m.: USS Chicago arrives in San Francisco Bay.
That day: The Call, Chronicle and Examiner print a combined newspaper on the presses of the Oakland Herald; mansions along Van Ness Avenue are blown up as a fire break.
April 20, 1906
• 16 enlisted men and two officers from the USS Chicago supervise the rescue of 20,000 refugees fleeing the fire. It is the largest evacuation by sea in history.
• 8:30 p.m.: A general wires the War Department. Fort Mason is saved and some looters have been shot. Most casualties are in the poorer districts.
April 21, 1906
• The fire that swept the Mission District is stopped by 3,000 volunteers and firemen, who fought the blaze with knapsacks, brooms and water from a single fire hydrant.
• Statue of President McKinley is saved.
April 22, 1906
• Major Gen. Adolphus Greely, commander of the army’s Pacific Division returns to San Francisco.
• United Railroad crews began stringing temporary overhead trolley wires.
April 23, 1906
• Governor tells a newspaper reporter, “The work of rebuilding San Francisco has commenced, and I expect to see the great metropolis replaced on a much grander scale than ever before.”
• President Theodore Roosevelt declines offers of donations from other governments.
Hurricane Katrina
Aug. 25, 2005:
•7 p.m.: Hurricane Katrina hits Florida.
Aug. 26, 2005:
• Katrina gets stronger in the Gulf of Mexico.
• 4 p.m.: The National Hurricane Center issues an advisory on Katrina; warns it could reach Category 4.
• Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency
Aug. 27, 2005
• 5 a.m.: Katrina upgraded to Category 3.
• During the day: Residents told to evacuate; President Bush declares a state of emergency in Louisiana.
• 11 p.m.: The National Hurricane Center issues a warning for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
• New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour declare states of emergencies.
Aug. 28, 2005
• 2 a.m.: Katrina becomes a Category 4 storm.
• 8 a.m.: Katrina becomes a Category 5 storm, the highest and most dangerous category. Superdome opens as a shelter of last resort.
• 11 a.m.: Mayor Nagin orders a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans as storm takes aim at the city.
• 11:30 a.m.: President Bush vows to help.
• Heavy traffic clogs evacuation routes out of city.
• 3 p.m.: Thousands gather at Superdome; 150 National Guard soldiers are stationed there.
• 6 p.m.: Mayor Nagin orders a 6 p.m. curfew.
• 7 p.m.: National Weather Service predicts levees will be “overtopped.”
Aug. 29, 2005
• Between 6 and 7 a.m.: Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Louisiana, with winds more than 125 mph. President Bush declares a state of emergency.
• Lower 9th Ward is flooded.
• Late morning: Two major levees break in New Orleans.
•11:30 a.m.: Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown requests 1,000 employees be sent to the area. The request comes about five hours after landfall. Responders are given two days to arrive in the city.
• In the afternoon: The roof of the Superdome, where 10,000 people have taken refuge, is damaged. Much of the city is flooded. FEMA asks first responders to come to the city only after coordinating with state and local officials.
• 1:45 p.m.: President Bush declares an emergency disaster for Louisiana and Mississippi.
• The American Red Cross says that it is launching the largest mobilization in its history.
• Coast Guard rescues 1,200 from flood; National Guard called in.
Aug. 30, 2005
• City power grid has failed. Water is no longer safe to drink. There is looting, and fires burn uncontrolled. More than 80 percent of the city is flooded.
• FEMA activates the National Response Plan, but stops volunteer firefighters with hurricane expertise from entering the city because it is not secured.
• According to the Chicago Tribune, the USS Bataan sits off shore. “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can also make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.”
• 4:30 p.m.: Officials call for help from anyone with a boat.
• 5:50 p.m.: President Bush says he will cut his vacation short.
• 8:10 p.m.: Reports come in of widespread looting.
• 10 p.m.: Mayor Nagin says that sandbagging of 17th Street levee has failed.
• 10:15 p.m.: Gov. Blanco orders Superdome evacuated.
Aug. 31, 2005
• The Gulf Coast is declared a public health emergency by federal officials. Thousands are stranded at the Superdome. President George Bush flies over the devastation in Air Force One on his way to Washington, D.C.
• President Bush releases oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
• Gov. Blanco requests more troops and orders New Orleans evacuated.
• Refugees start arriving in Texas.
• 12:30 p.m.: Pentagon sends four Navy ships with emergency supplies; FEMA deploys 39 medical teams.
• 5 p.m.: President Bush holds a press conference at the White House
• 6 p.m.: Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, declares Katrina an Incident of National Significance. The declaration triggers a coordinated federal response for the first time.
• Evacuation of the Superdome begins.
Sept. 1, 2005
• 8 a.m.: President Bush says: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” The vulnerability of New Orleans to a strong hurricane has been well-documented for years.
• People remain stranded on roofs and in buildings and violence slows down rescue attempts.
• According to CNN, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announces that 4,200 National Guard troops trained as military police will be deployed to New Orleans over the next three days. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco requests the mobilization of 40,000 National Guard troops.
• President’s Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush asked to raise money for victims.
• Halliburton awarded Navy contract for cleanup.
• Superdome and Convention Center house 45,000 refugees.
• DHS Secretary Chertoff says in an interview he was unaware of the people at the convention center until recently.
• 8 p.m.: FEMA’s Brown tells CNN’s Paula Zahn that he became aware of convention center problem only a few hour earlier.
Sept. 2, 2005
• A chemical plant explodes early in the morning.
• More National Guard soldiers arrive, 6,500 in New Orleans, 20,000 by the end of in Louisiana and Mississippi.
• President Bush signs a $10.5 billion disaster relief bill.
• National Guard troops arrive, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will take between 36 and 80 days to pump the water from the city.
• Airlines begin flying refugees to Texas.
Sept. 3, 2005
• Evacuation continues.
• President Bush orders 7,200 active duty soldiers to the Gulf Coast.
• 40,000 National Guard soldiers in the region.
• Utility companies begin work to restore power along the Gulf Coast.
• CNN reports Army Corps of Engineers brings pumps and generators from around the country.
• A group of 1,000 firefighters from around the country gather in Atlanta. They are not deployed to assist in the rescue/recovery operation.
Sept. 4, 2005
• Rescues continue, but thousands remain stranded. Superdome is fully evacuated.
• FEMA sets up a telephone hot line for donations to victims.
Sept. 5, 2005
• Gap in levee is closed
• 4,700 more active duty soldiers are deployed.
• About 500 New Orleans police officers unaccounted for.
Sept. 6, 2005
• Congress and the president pledge to investigate federal response.
• Army Corps of Engineers begins pumping out water.
• FEMA issues debit cards to some victims.
• Mayor Nagin authorizes military and police to remove stragglers by force if necessary.
Sept. 7, 2005
• President calls for an additional $52 billion in aid.
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