Haunting photos showing devastating aftermath of 1906 San Francisco earthquake which leveled 80% of the city and killed thousands emerge for sale at California auction

Poignant images showing the devastating aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake have been unearthed and are set to go on sale.

The photos capture the devastation wrought on the city and its inhabitants by the quake - among the deadliest in US history - and subsequent fires.

The 7.9 magnitude quake struck the California coast on April 18, before blazes erupted over several days, destroying 80 per cent of the city and killing 3,000 people.

Haunting images show mounds of rubble where impressive buildings once stood, with residential blocks, a cathedral, and newspaper offices all left as shells or completely decimated.

Others capture the human tragedy of the disaster, showing refugee tent communities which sprung up among the ruins after locals lost their homes, with tens of thousands forced to leave the city or live on the streets.

View of Montgomery Street looking north from Market Street. Passersby walk past piles of rubble pushed back from the roads

A view of Market Street in downtown San Francisco now. Its busy roads are a far cry from the destruction it has seen historically

Devastation caused to the US Post Office building. Construction had been completed shortly before the quake, in 1905

The Post Office building/James R. Browning United States Court of Appeals Building now

The ruins of St Mary's Catholic Church and surrounding Chinese restaurants, joss houses and bazaars

View of Old St Mary's Cathedral on Grant Avenue in Chinatown, with the church and restaurants rebuilt

The early 20th century photographs contrast sharply with pictures of a rebuilt San Francisco today, with towering modern skyscrapers now replacing the ruins. 

In pictures showing the aftermath of the disaster, ladies in dresses and bonnets and men in suits can be seen wandering through mounds of rubble as they process the horrors.

The images were captured all over the city, including in Chinatown where St Mary's Catholic Church and the surrounding Chinese restaurants, joss houses and bazaars were razed.

Another snap shows the devastation caused to the US Post Office building, which stands gutted surrounded by razed structures. 

California Street looking West from Drumm Street. Fires destroyed an estimated 25,000 buildings on 490 city blocks

A view of California Street now, complete with its famous trams and lined with modern buildings

Construction of the building had been completed shortly before the quake, in 1905 at an estimated cost of $2.3million.

The set of 20 photos has emerged for sale for an estimated $2,000 to $3,000 at PBA Galleries Auctions, of Berkeley, California, US.

The 117-year-old images were unearthed by a Californian photo and ephemera dealer.

One image shows a view of 'Davis' near Merchant Street, looking towards Market Street with a razed building in the foreground

Kearny Street looking south from Sutter Street. The Call building in the background was badly burned and damaged by the earthquake, but did not collapse

Newspaper Row from the corner of Grant Avenue and Post Street. The five-point intersection of Market Street, Kearny Street, Third Street and Geary Street was home to San Francisco's largest daily papers: The San Francisco Call, The San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle

A view along Oregon Street towards Ferry Tower. The well-built reinforced tower, which replaced a wooden structure in 1898, survived the 1906 quake with little damage

Refugees gather on the corner of Drumm and Clay Streets. The quake left a homeless population of an estimated 300,000

Refugee tents on East Street near Market Street. The government estimates that around 75,000 citizens left the city after the quake

Skyscrapers now line Market street and Montgomery street, including the Hobart Building which was erected in 1914

Bruce MacMakin, of PBA Galleries Auctions, said: 'Though many photographs were taken of the earthquake and its aftermath, by both commercial and amateur photographers, most found their way into privately assembled photography albums, or bundled together in drawers or boxed in an attic.

'The present group is unusual in that they were published as a distinct series by Putnam Studios in Los Angeles, each apparently available for sale individually, the photographs printed directly on stiff paper leaves.

'The paucity of examples in institutional collections is an indication of the rarity of the photographs.'

View of Lotta Fountain and Kearny Street looking north from Geary. The fountain was commissioned by actress Lotta Crabtree in 1875 as a gift to the city

The Lotta Fountain in the modern day. In 2016, more than 200 participants gathered here to commemorate victims of the earthquake

Modern buildings have replaced the ruins of over 100 years ago. Lotta fountain became an important meeting point in the aftermath of the quake

Poignant images showing the devastating aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are going on sale on August 10

Over 300,000 people were made homeless with 30 fires destroying 25,000 buildings on 490 city blocks.

Rebuilding San Francisco cost $350million - the equivalent of $8billion in today's money.

The pictures are set to go on sale on August 10.