Quote:
Originally Posted by autograf
The whole doggone city of San Francisco didn't completely burn up did it? Guess I'd better brush up on my SF history.
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Well, Tom, your comment got me curious, so after a quick search and a glance at
this page, it seems like 80% of the city was destroyed by the quake, the fire, and.... people setting their own homes on fire. A quick blurb and a map of the damage:
Quote:
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The quake lasted 42 seconds, causing severe damage. Ruptured gas lines (and the scarcity of water due to ruptures in those lines) caused city-wide fires that eventually were responsible for up to 90% of the total destruction. Additionally, since the insurance companies didn’t refund the actual quake damage, many people set fire to their own homes. The fires raged for four days and nights. By that time, 80% of the city was destroyed. Estimates of the damage range from $500 million to as high as $1 billion (equivalent to as much as $300 billion in 2005 money).
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