Earthquakes were not uncommon in San Francisco, and there had been bad ones i

Earthquakes were not uncommon in San Francisco, and there had been bad ones in 1868, 1898, and 1900. But the results of the earthquake of 1906 were the worst of all. It first struck the city at twelve past five in the early morning of April 18th, and lasted one minute.
A minute seems a short time when one is in a pleasant place, and sometimes it passed much too quickly. But in an earthquake it is terribly long. At one moment you are living your usual life. At the next your chairs and tables am dancing on the floor, your house is moving about, and your worm is suddenly changed. You cannot be sure what will happen next. You cannot ha sure if you will be alive to see what happens next.