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The City Hall at Santa Rosa collapsed along with many buildings in the business district, which consisted mainly of brick and stone masonry structures. The equivalent of eight city blocks was destroyed by the earthquake and five blocks by fire. Shoddy workmanship reportedly caused many buildings to fail. Lime mortar and poor quality sand had been used to cement bricks, and few structures had proper cross bracing. People caught in the debris were burned when they could not be freed. Sixty-one people died in this city, and a dozen were listed as missing. Image Credit: University of California at Berkeley April 18, 1906 San Francisco USA earthquake The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the largest event (magnitude 8.3) to occur in the conterminous United States in the 20th Century. Recent estimates indicate that as many as 3,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake and ensuing fire. In terms of 1906 dollars, the total property damage amounted to about $24 million from the earthquake and $350 million from the fire. The fire destroyed 28,000 buildings in a 520-block area of San Francisco. Event Data:
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