Today is the 105th Anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake

105 years ago today, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco and the Northern California coast at 5:12 a.m. Of the 410,000 San Francisco residents, more than 300,000 people were left homeless. The death toll from the quake and the subsequent fire was estimated to be more than 3,000 casualties, the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history.

Photo courtesy of SFMTA

Last week, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency released new scans of the 1906 earthquake. Locked away for years, the photos were taken by the city’s transportation operator and official photographer or United Railroads, John Henry Mentz. History buffs and San Francisco locals, check out more pics here.

Haight Street, where Whole Foods now stands:

Photo courtesy of SFMTA