How Many Deaths In 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

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The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: A Centennial Whodunit of Death (Mostly Caused by Fire)
So, Why All the Confusion?
How to be a Casual History Buff?

The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: A Centennial Whodunit of Death (Mostly Caused by Fire)

Ah, 1906. A simpler time, they say. Less screen time, more mustache rides. But also, a time when Mother Nature decided to give San Francisco a good rattle, followed by a not-so-friendly housewarming fire. So, the big question is: how many folks got caught in the crossfire (or rather, aftershocks and flames)? Buckle up, history buffs, because we're diving into the great San Francisco earthquake death toll mystery!

The Initial Headcount: A Shockingly Low Number

Right after the dust settled (and the fire died down), the official body count came in at a measly 700. That seems...well, a little light for a city that basically looked like a scene from a disaster movie. Turns out, counting dead bodies in the midst of chaos isn't exactly an exact science.

The Plot Thickens: The Numbers Game Gets Spicy

Fast forward a few decades, and researchers with detective skills sharper than Sherlock Holmes himself started poking holes in the 700 figure. They considered folks who died from injuries later, those who were lost at sea thanks to rogue waves, and let's not forget the smoke inhalation victims. Slowly but surely, the numbers started creeping up.

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The "Official" Answer: A Number Worthy of a Shakespearean Tragedy

By the 2000s, after a lot of historical head-scratching, the city of San Francisco finally settled on a new death toll: over 3,000. That's a much more believable body count for a disaster of that magnitude.

How Many Deaths In 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

So, Why All the Confusion?

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Here's the thing: earthquakes are messy. Fires are messier. Counting dead people in the middle of all that mess? Practically impossible. Add to that the lack of sophisticated record-keeping back in the day, and you've got a recipe for a historical whodunit.