April 18 will mark the 105th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. This year’s annual commemoration will begin at 4:30 a.m. at Lotta’s Fountain at the intersection of Kearny and Market Streets. At 5 a.m., M.C. Bob Sarlette will welcome a parade for the earthquake survivors.

In the days following the 1906 quake, Lotta’s Fountain became a central meeting point – a place where people could leave messages and search for lost relatives. Every year, survivors gather at the historic monument for a reunion.

Mayor Ed Lee, the San Francisco fire and police chiefs, and Bill Del Monte, one of the last known survivors of the 1906 quake, will gather around the fountain at 5:13 a.m. to mark the exact time the earth started shaking.

The crowd will then be invited to the annual painting of the golden hydrant at 20th and Church Streets, and Lefty O’Doul’s (333 Geary Street) will host the annual Survivors’ Bloody Mary Breakfast at 6:30 a.m.

This year’s ceremony will be dedicated to the victims of the 9.0 Sendai earthquake and tsunami. The March 11 disaster in Japan is a reminder that our earthquake preparedness needs to address more than just the violent shaking – in San Francisco, devastation was the result of fires that leveled the City; in Japan, tsunami waves destroyed entire towns.

NERT (the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) would like to help prepare Marina-Cow Hollow residents for future disasters of all types with free preparedness training starting Thursday, June 23. The six-week course will take place Thursdays from 6:30–8:30 p.m. at St. Mary the Virgin Church Hall (corner of Union and Steiner). The classes include hazard mitigation, basic disaster skills, light search and rescue techniques, and disaster team organization, with classroom and hands-on training. To gain the full benefit for both you and the community, participants need to attend all six sessions to receive a certificate and NERT identification. Register by contacting 415-970-2024 or [email protected] , or visit www.sfgov.org/sffdnert  to learn more about NERT training or see additional course dates and locations.