Ranar 18 ga Afrilu, 1906, wata girgizar ƙasa mai ɓarna
ya samo asali ne daga fashewar sama da mil 270 na San Andreas Fault, daga San Juan Bautista zuwa Eureka, wanda ke kusa da bakin tekun San Francisco. USGS ta kiyasta cewa girgizar ta kasance mai girman 7.8 a kan sikelin Richter. Ruwan ruwa ya fashe a cikin San Francisco, kuma gobarar da ta biyo baya ta ƙone ba tare da kulawa ba har tsawon kwanaki, ta lalata kimanin kashi 80% na birnin, ciki har da kusan dukkanin tsakiyar gari. Yawancin mazauna sun makale tsakanin ruwa a bangarori uku da kuma wuta mai zuwa, kuma ƙauracewar jama'a a ƙetaren Bay ya ceci dubbai. An kuma kafa sansanonin 'yan gudun hijirar a Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, da sauran sassan da ba a ci gaba ba na birnin. Adadin wadanda suka mutu a lokacin ya kai 478, kodayake an sake duba shi a hukumance a 2005 zuwa 3,000+. Ƙananan mutuwar da aka fara da shi ta hanyar al'umma, jihohi, da kuma jami'an tarayya waɗanda suka ji cewa bayar da rahoto game da ainihin lambobi zai cutar da sake ginawa da sake ginawa, da kuma birnin da kuma halin kirki na kasa. Yawan mutanen da suka mutu daga wannan taron sun kasance mafi yawan mutuwar daga bala'i na halitta a tarihin California.