Where to learn more
Exhibits and more on the history and science of our earthquakes, and how to prepare for them
HISTORY AND SCIENCE
San Francisco Genealogy: San Francisco 1906 Earthquake Marriage Project
Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire
Marin County Free Library: 1906 Earthquake and Fire
EXHIBITS
Oakland Museum: Aftershock! — Voices from the 1906 Earthquake and Fire
Legion of Honor: After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: 1906 Earthquake: A Disaster in Pictures
California Historical Society: Jack London and the Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906
History San José: It’s Our Fault, Too: The 1906 Earthquake in Santa Clara Valley
Sonoma County Museum: Force of Nature: 1906 Earthquake Centennial Exhibition
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
Prepare.org: Advice for seniors, translations, large-type guide, help for children/schools, people with disabilities, pet owners, basic preparedness info and more: Prepare.org
Family Disaster Plan: http://www.redcross.org/static/file_cont36_lang0_23.pdf
Checklist: http://www.redcross.org/static/file_cont3615_lang0_1395.pdf
Readymade kits: http://www.redcrossshop.org/
MORE RESOURCES:
California Governnor’s Office of Emergency Services
San Francisco Chronicle: Earthquakes Survival and Preparedness Resource
USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program
San Francisco Office of Emergency Services
BOOKS
Earthquakes are like horror flicks: terrifying but extraordinarily interesting. The following recent books and website are among the best about quakes in the West. They may not turn you into an earthquake fan, but they will help you appreciate the powerful seismic forces that shape the West.
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906, by Simon Winchester. Gripping, panoramic account of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. HarperCollins, 2005; $27.95 hardbound.
After the Ruins: 1906 and 2006, by Philip L. Fradkin, Rebecca Solnit, Mark Klett, Michael Lundgren. Inspired pairings of 1906 photographs of smoldering San Francisco matched with shots of the •same locations today. A companion volume to the exhibit by the same name at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco. University of California Press, 2006; $49.95 hardbound, $24.95 paper.
Earthquakes, Fifth Edition, by Bruce A. Bolt. Dense but readable, this is probably the layperson’s best introduction to epicenters, P waves, S waves, and the other mysteries of quake science. W.H. Freeman, 2003; $42.95 paper.
Finding Fault in California: An Earthquake Tourist’s Guide, by Susan Elizabeth Hough. Maybe you hadn’t thought about spending your next vacation clambering around the San Andreas or San Jacinto faults. This jaunty but scientifically serious guidebook may change your mind. Mountain Press Publishing, 2004; $18.00 paper.
The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906, by Philip L. Fradkin. Another take on the big shake, with a greater emphasis on human culpability in the disaster. University of California Press, 2005; $27.50 hardbound, $15.95 paper.
Magnitude 8, by Philip L. Fradkin. A trip along the San Andreas Fault, with stops for earthquake science and history. University of California Press, 1999; $24.95 paper.
1906 quake centennial. Want to know everything about the 1906 quake — and how it’s being commemorated this year? Visit http://1906centennial.org.
