2056 San Francisco earthquake (Seyana)



The 2056 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 4:20 a.m. on Thursday, April 20 with an estimated moment magnitude of 9.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). High intensity shaking was felt from Port Orford, Oregon to Paso Robles, California. Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result, up to 20,000 people died and the city of San Francisco and surrounding areas was destroyed. The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest earthquakes in the world. The death toll remains one of the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high in the lists of North American disasters.

The earthquake also triggered powerful tsunami waves that have reached heights of up to 48.6 metres, with tsunamis travelling as far as Japan.