Timeline of Homeland Security Events and Milestones
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck San Francisco, CA. Violent shocks lasted approximately 40-60 seconds and was felt from southern Oregon to the south of Los Angeles and inland as far as Central Nevada. Fires that resulted from broken gas mains raged for three days, and the pipeline…
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September 8, 1900: A category 4 hurricane ripped through the port city of Galveston, Texas with winds over 135 miles per hour. Storm surges rose 15 feet and completely devastated the prosperous and, at the time, one of the biggest cities in Texas, with over 40,000 inhabitants. Galveston would go…
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A forest fire that was allegedly started by railroad workers who were clearing land for tracks, swept through northeast Wisconsin. Within an hour of the fire striking, the city of Peshtigo, WI was gone. A number of factors were attributed to the raging fire, including a prolonged drought and a…
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An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the region of San Francisco Bay. It lasted for more than 40 seconds and is considered one of the most destructive earthquakes in California’s history, regardless of the sparse population of the time. Shaking could be felt as far as Nevada, and…
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A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on the San Andreas Fault from near Parkfield to approximately 300 km away near Wrightwood. The quake could be felt from Marysville to San Diego, and east to Las Vegas, with strong shaking lasting from one to three minutes.—(USGS) Date of event: January 9, 1857 Impact:…
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The 1811-1812 New Madrid Sequence consisted of three large earthquakes: A Magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck on December 15, 1811; a magnitude 7.3 that struck on January 23, 1812; and a magnitude 7.5 that struck on February 7, 1812. Following the earthquakes, hundreds of aftershocks were felt in 1813. There…
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