picture of the day, The San Francisco Earthquake

The San Francisco Earthquake

A massive earthquake felt from Oregon to Los Angeles and as far inland as Nevada jolted San Francisco, Calif., at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906. The earthquake caused severe damage and loss of life in the San Francisco Bay area, and a three-day fire spawned by the shaking reduced 4.7 square miles of the city to blackened ruins. Military officials estimated $400 million of damage and a total of 700-800 killed. Modern research estimates that closer to 3,000 of San Francisco’s 400,000 inhabitants lost their lives.

The photo captures a painter sitting amid earthquake rubble painting a picture of ruins of large building after the earthquake.

Photo: Library of Congress

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Japanese Women Overtaken in Life Expectancy Rankings

For the first time in 25 years, Japanese women are not the longest-lived women on the planet. Women in Hong Kong now have the highest life expectancy in the world. The expected lifespan for Japanese women fell from 86.3 years in 2010 to 85.9 years in 2011, in part as a result of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country in March 2011. The life expectancy for Japanese men also fell over this same period, dropping them from fourth to eighth place in the global life expectancy rankings. More… Discuss