The San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906 is one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. The quake and fire killed thousands.
Today, an earthquake with a magnitude around 7.0 is likely to hit the San Francisco Bay Area in the next ten years, according to the US Geological Survey.
According to the USGS, “The threat of earthquakes extends across the entire San Francisco Bay region, and a major quake is likely before 2032.” A major quake on the San Andreas Fault typically occurs every 200 years. The Hayward Fault, which runs through the East Bay, historically sees a major quake every 150 years.
The USGS says a magnitude 6.0 quake would be felt by all residents and result in moving furniture and some cracked walls. A 7.0, however, would likely result in broken chimneys and considerable damage to poorly built structures.
A new report from The Mercury News says Alameda would be particularly devastated.
“Alameda was once a peninsula, connected to Oakland until an estuary was dredged in the early 1900s, and its original landmass was much smaller than it is now. Today, only the interior island is on rock; the rest of the city was built with soft, spongy mud and clay pulled from the bay to make room for neighborhoods and the Alameda Point naval base during World War II.”