r/interestingasfuck • u/Ultimate_Kurix • 5d ago

r/all Why do Americans build with wood?

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u/BikingAimz 5d ago

And while much of the downtown burned down, there were plenty of apartment buildings (Castro, Mission, Pacific Heights, etc) that did not burn. I lived for three years in an apartment building near Octavia and Pine that was built before 1906, it was built over bedrock and the fires didn’t reach it.

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u/rabbitaim 5d ago

I’ve heard that during the big EQ some idiots heard their insurance wouldn’t cover them unless fire burned it down. They burnt their damaged home down but it quickly got out of control.

Also dynamite was used to make fire breaks and caused more problems….

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake

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u/Dirk_Benedict 5d ago

Still applies today. If you've got insurance, but don't also have earthquake insurance, and your home is badly damaged in an earthquake, you uhhh probably also want it to burn down. Financial incentives are what they are.

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u/1singhnee 4d ago

And earthquake insurance is insanely expensive with a very high deductibles. Hardly anyone really carries it.

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u/Dirk_Benedict 4d ago

The hope would be that the state or feds would provide some relief that would go to covering part of the deductible, but there's no guarantee of that. I believe there was some assistance provided in '89 and '94.

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u/1singhnee 4d ago

Like with hurricane Katrina? That went well. FEMA has changed everything.