Photos of Paris flood, 1910

The 1910 Great Flood of Paris was a catastrophe in which the Seine River, carrying winter rains from its tributaries, flooded Paris, France, and several nearby communities.

In late January 1910, following months of high rainfall, the Seine River flooded the French capital when water pushed upwards from overflowing sewers and subway tunnels, and seeped into basements through fully saturated soil. The waters did not overflow the river's banks within the city, but flooded Paris through tunnels, sewers, and drains. In neighbouring towns both east and west of the capital, the river rose above its banks and flooded the surrounding terrain directly. [More on Wikipedia, via]

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1906 San Francisco earthquake

Panorama of San Francisco in ruins, taken via kite photography approx. 2,000 ft (600 m) above San Francisco Bay overlooking water front. Sunset over Golden Gate. May 28, 1906 by George R. Lawrence

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.9; however, other values have been proposed, from 7.7 to as high as 8.25. The main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles (3 km) from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles (477 km). Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States alongside the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire, estimated to be above 3,000, is the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history. The economic impact has been compared with the more recent Hurricane Katrina.

Post and Grant Avenue look

Arnold Genthe's famous photograph, looking toward the fire on Sacramento Street

Bird's-eye view, surrounding Ferry Building, looking west on Market Street. Photographed from tower

Burning of San Francisco, Mission District

Stockton Street from Union Square, looking toward Market Street

Big snow struck in 1946

During this blizzard, plows buried some cars in front of the old Post Office and Mueller's Barber Shop. At another time, a grader was used to plow snow on Washington Avenue at Spring Street.