San Francisco commemorates 115th anniversary of 1906 earthquake with ceremony, sirens

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- On Sunday morning, San Francisco community members gathered to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the infamous 1906 earthquake.

Mayor London Breed led the formal ceremony at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street.

Lotta's served as a meeting spot for citizens to reunite with their loved ones after the quake.

RELATED: Survivors recall horror of 1906 Great Quake in San Francisco

Every year on April 18, a moment of silence is observed at 5:11 a.m. to remember those who lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude tremor.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown spoke to the crowd about those who survived and helped rebuild the city.

"It was a very, very special breed of people who, in 1906, actually started the process of the resurrection of San Francisco," Brown said Sunday.

The ceremony also included 30 seconds of fire engine sirens at 5:12 a.m., during the exact moment the earthquake hit.