THE STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS (Adapted)

San Francisco, May 5, 1906. The earthquake that hit San Francisco on April 18 shook down hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of walls and chimneys (烟囱). But the fire that followed burned up hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of buildings and homes. Never before in history has a city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. The factories, the great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels, and the great houses of the rich are all gone.

On Wednesday morning at a quarter past five came the earthquake. A moment later, the disaster was a fact. South of Market Street, in the working-class neighborhoods and in the factories, fires started. Within an hour of the first quake, the smoke could be seen 100 miles away. The sun was red in the dark sky. There was no stopping the fires. The firefighters to whom the task was given did their best but there was no way to organize or communicate. The railway tracks were now useless and there was no water in water pipes. All of the ways man had made to keep the city safe were gone in the 30 seconds the earth moved.

By Wednesday afternoon, half the heart of the city was gone. At that time, I watched the disaster from a ship on the bay (海湾). Out at sea it was calm. No wind came up. Yet from every directioneast, west, north, and south-strong winds blew upon the unlucky city and those whose homes had once stood in its green hills.

Wednesday night saw the destruction of the very heart of the city. Man himself had to make ruins of some of the city’s best buildings so that they would not be a danger to those in the streets. Tens of thousands who had lost their homes left the city to look for shelter from the fires. Some were dressed only in blankets and carried the things that they had been able to rescue from the fires. But there were no fights and no pushing or shoving. Somehow this worst of disasters brought out the best in the survivors. Never in all of San Francisco’s history were her people so kind as on this night of terror.

Thomas and Christine Noctor have lived and raised their family in the home for three decades. They and their 12-year-old grandson Dean, who lives with them, had most of their personal belongings damaged or destroyed after a fire broke out in Thomas’ home office on Saturday evening.

Ally Noctor was in the home with her mother, father, nephew Dean, and brother James when the incident happened. “My mom has COPD (慢性阻寒性肺病) so I said ‘just get out the back’, and she took the dog out the back,” Ally recalled. “My brother came running down looking for a fire extinguisher (灭火器), and my dad was screaming, ‘Fire !’”

The fire started in the box room It’s Thomas home office. He’d just done it up. It was clearly an electrical fault but no one thought at the time to turn off the electricity. The room started filling with smoke quickly and they had to leave immediately.

The house is located just a short walk away from the fire station. But when neighbors called, the available trucks were already out — so nearly 20 minutes had passed before the fire crew arrived.

Thankfully, they managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the attic (阁楼) or to any more homes in the community.

The family then went back inside the house to investigate what had happened and survey the damage caused. Dean’s gaming PC was melted, toys were melted, and even the shower was melted. All their clothes couldn’t be taken out.

“The downstairs is okay, but there is smoke damage and water damage. And all of the upstairs is completely damaged. My mom is still in shock. She’s just staring into space,” Ally said.

But Ally was quick to praise her community, who were right there to help the Noctors get out of the house the moment they sensed trouble and every one of the family got timely help.

When the water came in under the door of their home in Naples, Florida, it was just a glimmer (隐约的迹象) on the floor, a sign that it was time to go. It was around noon on Wednesday, September 28 last year when Darcy Bishop woke her two brothers who had been resting after lunch. She pulled the wheelchair up to the oldest, Russell Rochow, 66, and helped him into it. Her other brother, Todd Rochow,63, was in his room. He could manage with a walker.

Both men had been born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), and their mental development was like that of a young child. About 10 years ago, they started showing signs of Parkinson’s disease.   Bishop,61, was their lifeline, their little sister who had long felt an obligation to keep them safe.

“We have to go!” she shouted to Todd. She went to open the front door. It would not move. The weight of the water on the other side had made it shut. She rushed to try the door to the garage. It was stuck too. That’s when the house the three siblings (兄弟姐妹) shared began to flood. As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida, many residents who’d decided to stay found themselves unable to leave even if they tried. Within days, around 100 deaths in the state were caused by the hurricane. On Tuesday, Bishop had planned to leave with her brothers for her daughter’s home 25 kilometres inland. But by then, there were so many warnings to stay put.

Now Bishop and her brothers were trapped. She texted her daughter at 12:34 p.m. “Water’s coming in.” Around her, she could hear the china breaking and the refrigerator falling over. The only way to go was up. Bishop guided Todd to the stairs, and he held the banister (扶手). She helped him pull himself slowly up to the top where he waited in a chair.

But stairs were impossible for Russell, who could neither walk nor bend his legs.

After a while, Bishop heard the rescuers were downstairs.