Daly City Earthquake of March 22,
1957
The strongest shock since the
1906 earthquake was experienced by San Francisco and the Bay Area at
11:45:20 on the morning of Friday, March
22, 1957. It registered 5.3 on the Richter scale and, for a whole new
generation of the local population, it was the greatest earthquake they had
ever experienced.
Earlier in the day two other quakes had been felt. The
first, at 8:38 a.m., was 3 on the Richter scale, and the second, at 10:48
a.m., registered 3.75. No lives were lost, there were no serious injuries,
and structural damage to homes was slight, although a large number of
homes in the Westlake--Palisades--Daly City area suffered
more or less superficial damage, generally confined to exterior plaster.
The quake was centered on the San Andreas fault near Daly City. Damage
to buildings in San Francisco was noted throughout the city, but was most
extensive in the western portions. This earthquake, along with the 1906 and
1989 jolts, continues to be studied by
scientists. Subsequent investigation indicates that the 1957 earthquake
may have been centered near the epicenter of the Great Earthquake of
1906.
From Gladys Hansen's San Francisco
Almanac
©1995 Chronicle Books
For
information on other major San Francisco earthquakesThe Great Earthquake of 1865
The San Francisco Earthquake of 1868
The Great Earthquake and Fire of
1906
The 1989 Earthquake and
Fires
Chronology of San
Francisco Earthquakes 1769 - 1994
