April 18: The Great San Francisco Earthquake

A second event for April 18:

In 1906, the Great San Francisco Earthquake killed upwards of 3000 people and led to the city's gradual destruction by fire in the days after. The event was seen as apocalyptic by some. Of course there were doubters of this, as demonstrated in a bit of doggerel circulating at the time about the city's largest distillery:

If, as they say, God spanked this town For being much too frisky,
Why did He burn His churches down And save Hotaling's Whiskey?