Earthquakes...Why San Francisco is Changing Its Buildings

San Francisco is such a beautiful city. But there's just one flaw: earthquakes cause major damage, taking away that beauty. Retrofittings in old buildings and building new ones that are seismically safe reduce the damage caused by a XII intensity earthquake. The retrofittings in the buildings don't change the look of the building, however, because people are so attached to the architecture. Here is what happened in two major earthquakes in the city's history: The 1906 Earthquake, aka "The Great Shake" and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Photos courtesy of Wikipedia.

A house in the Marina after the Loma Prieta Earthquake.





The collapsed Bay Bridge after the same earthquake.

San Francisco after The Great Shake.