<P> The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5 : 12 a.m. on Wednesday , April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI ( Extreme ) . High intensity shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley , an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area . Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days . Thousands of homes were dismantled . As a result , up to 3,000 people died and over 80 % of the city of San Francisco was destroyed . The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest earthquakes in the history of the United States . The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California 's history and high in the lists of American disasters . </P>
<P> The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5 : 12 a.m. on Wednesday , April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI ( Extreme ) . High intensity shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley , an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area . Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days . Thousands of homes were dismantled . As a result , up to 3,000 people died and over 80 % of the city of San Francisco was destroyed . The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest earthquakes in the history of the United States . The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California 's history and high in the lists of American disasters . </P>
when did the 1906 earthquake happen in san francisco
when did the 1906 earthquake happen in san francisco
5 : 12 a.m. on Wednesday , April 18
5 : 12 a.m. on Wednesday , April 18