On this day in 1906, an earthquake woke up residents of San Francisco. Little did they know that it was going to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States.

◼ Remembering the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake - The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Historically, residents always referred to the 1868 earthquake as “the big one.” When this earthquake came, it only lasted about 45 seconds, but it was estimated to have been between 7.8 and 8.3 on the Richter scale (which wasn’t invented until 1935).