   #copyright

Galveston Hurricane of 1900

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Storms

   CAPTION: Galveston Hurricane of 1900

   Category 4 hurricane ( SSHS)
   Path of the hurricane
   Path of the hurricane
     __________________________________________________________________

   Formed August 27, 1900
   Dissipated September 12, 1900
   Highest
   winds
   150 mph (240 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
   Lowest pressure ≤936 mbar ( hPa)
   Damage $25-50 million (1900 USD)

   $928 million (2000 USD)
   Fatalities 6,000–12,000 direct
   Areas
   affected Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, south Florida,
   Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas (particularly around Galveston), much of
   the Central United States, Great Lakes region, Atlantic Canada
   Part of the
   1900 Atlantic hurricane season

   The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on the city of Galveston,
   Texas, on September 8, 1900. It had estimated winds of 135 miles per
   hour (215 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the
   Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

   The hurricane caused great loss of life. The death toll has been
   estimated to be between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals, depending on
   whether one counts casualties from the city of Galveston itself, the
   larger island, or the region as a whole. The number most cited in
   official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of
   casualties of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of
   1780, and 1998's Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to
   date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States.
   By contrast, the second-deadliest storm to strike the United States,
   the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, caused approximately 2,500 deaths, and
   the deadliest storm of recent times, Hurricane Katrina, has caused
   approximately 1,600 deaths.

   The hurricane has no official name and is referred to under various
   descriptive, unofficial names. Common names for the storm include the
   Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and in
   older documentation, the Galveston Flood. It is often locally known in
   the Galveston area as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm.

The city

   The city of Galveston at the end of the 19th century was a booming
   metropolis with a population of 42,000. Its position on the natural
   harbour of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the centre of
   trade and the biggest city in the state of Texas. With this prosperity
   came a sense of complacency.
   This photograph shows the aftermath of the hurricane and the
   destruction it wrought.
   Enlarge
   This photograph shows the aftermath of the hurricane and the
   destruction it wrought.

   A quarter of a century earlier, the nearby town of Indianola on
   Matagorda Bay was undergoing its own boom and was second to Galveston
   among Texas ports. Then in 1875, a powerful hurricane blew through,
   nearly destroying the town. Indianola was rebuilt, but a second
   hurricane in 1886 caused residents to simply give up and move
   elsewhere.

   Many Galveston residents took the destruction of Indianola as an object
   lesson on the threat posed by hurricanes. Galveston was a low, flat
   island, little more than a giant sandbar along the gulf coast. They
   called for a seawall to be constructed to protect the city, but their
   concerns were dismissed by the majority of the population and the
   city's government.

   Since its formal founding in 1839, the city of Galveston had weathered
   numerous storms, which the city survived with ease. Residents believed
   any future storms would be no worse than previous events. In order to
   provide an official meteorological statement on the threat of
   hurricanes, Galveston Weather Bureau section director Isaac Cline wrote
   an 1891 article in the Galveston News in which he argued not only that
   a seawall was not needed to protect the city, but that it would be
   impossible for a hurricane of significant strength to strike the
   island.

   The seawall was not built, and development activities on the island
   actively increased its vulnerability to storms. Sand dunes along the
   shore were cut down to fill low areas in the city, removing what little
   barrier there was to the Gulf of Mexico.

Origins

   The storm's origins are unclear, due to the limited observation ability
   at the end of the 19th century. Ship reports were the only reliable
   tool for observing hurricanes at sea, and because wireless telegraphy
   was in its infancy, these reports were not available until the ships
   put in at a harbour.

   Like most powerful Atlantic hurricanes, the 1900 storm is believed to
   have begun as a Cape Verde-type hurricane—a tropical wave moving off
   the western coast of Africa. The first formal sighting of the
   hurricane's precursor occurred on August 27, about one thousand miles
   (1,600 km) east of the Windward Islands, when a ship recorded an area
   of "unsettled weather".

   Three days later, Antigua reported a severe thunderstorm passing over,
   followed by the hot, humid calmness that often occurs after the passage
   of a tropical cyclone. By September 1, U.S. Weather Bureau observers
   were reporting on a "storm of moderate intensity (not a hurricane)"
   southeast of Cuba.

Warning signs

   Hurricane track from September 1–10
   Enlarge
   Hurricane track from September 1–10

   On September 4, the Galveston office of the U.S. Weather Bureau began
   receiving warnings from the Bureau's central office in Washington,
   D.C., that a "tropical storm" had moved northward over Cuba. The
   Weather Bureau forecasters had no way of knowing where the storm was or
   where it was going.

   Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico were ripe for further strengthening of
   the storm. The Gulf had seen little cloud cover for several weeks, and
   the seas were as warm as bathwater, according to one report. For a
   storm system that feeds off moisture, the Gulf of Mexico was enough to
   boost the storm from a tropical storm to a hurricane in a matter of
   days, with further strengthening likely.

   The storm was reported to be north of Key West on September 6, and in
   the early morning hours of Friday, September 7, the Weather Bureau
   office in New Orleans, Louisiana, issued a report of heavy damage along
   the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. Details of the storm were not
   widespread; damage to telegraph lines limited communication. The
   Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C., ordered storm warnings
   raised from Pensacola, Florida, to Galveston.

   By the afternoon of the 7th, large swells from the southeast were
   observed on the Gulf, and clouds at all altitudes began moving in from
   the northeast. Both of these observations are consistent with a
   hurricane approaching from the east. The Galveston Weather Bureau
   office raised its double square flags; a hurricane warning was in
   effect.

   The ship Louisiana encountered the hurricane at 1 p.m. that day after
   departing New Orleans. Captain Halsey estimated wind speeds of 150 mph
   (240 km/h).

   Weather Bureau forecasters believed the storm would travel northeast
   and affect the mid-Atlantic coast. "To them, the storm appeared to have
   begun a long turn or 'recurve' that would take it first into Florida,
   then drive it northeast toward an eventual exit into the Atlantic."
   Cuban forecasters disagreed, saying the hurricane would continue west.
   One Cuban forecaster predicted the hurricane would continue into
   central Texas near San Antonio.

   Early the next morning, the swells continued despite only partly cloudy
   skies. Largely because of the unremarkable weather, few residents
   heeded the warning. Few people evacuated across Galveston's bridges to
   the mainland, and the majority of the population was unconcerned by the
   rain clouds that had begun rolling in by mid-morning.

   Isaac Cline claimed that he took it upon himself to travel along the
   beach and other low-lying areas warning people personally of the
   storm's approach. This is based on Cline's own reports and has been
   called into question in recent years, as no other survivors
   corroborated his account.

   Cline's role in the disaster is the subject of some controversy.
   Supporters point to Cline's issuing a hurricane warning without
   permission from the Bureau's central office. Detractors (including
   author Erik Larson) point to Cline's earlier insistence that a seawall
   was unnecessary and his belief that an intense hurricane could not
   strike the island.

The storm

   Washington, D.C.
   September 9, 1900
   To: Manager, Western Union
   Houston, Texas
   Do you hear anything about Galveston?

   Willis L. Moore
   Chief, U.S. Weather Bureau

   The last train to reach Galveston left Houston on the morning of the
   September 8 at 9:45 a.m. It found the tracks washed out, and passengers
   were forced to transfer to a relief train on parallel tracks to
   complete their journey. Even then, debris on the track kept the train's
   progress at a crawl.

   The ninety-five travelers on the train from Beaumont were not so lucky.
   They found themselves at the Bolivar Peninsula waiting for the ferry
   that would carry them, train and all, to the island. When they arrived,
   the high seas forced the ferry captain to give up on his attempt to
   dock. The train attempted to return the way it had come, but rising
   water blocked its path.

   By early afternoon, a steady northeastern wind had picked up. By 5
   p.m., the Bureau office was recording sustained hurricane force winds.
   That night, the wind direction shifted to the east, and then to the
   southeast as the hurricane's eye began to pass over the island.

   One of the last messages that reached the mainland was from Cline at
   3:30 p.m., reporting "Gulf rising, water covers streets of about half
   of city." After that, the telegraph lines were cut.

   The highest measured wind speed was 100 mph (160 km/h) just after 6
   p.m., but the Weather Bureau's anemometer was blown off the building
   shortly after that measurement. The eye passed over the city around 8
   p.m. Maximum winds were estimated at 120 mph at the time, but later
   estimates placed the hurricane at the higher Category 4 classification
   on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The lowest recorded barometric
   pressure was 28.48 inHg (964.4 hPa), considered at the time to be so
   low as to be obviously in error. Modern estimates place the storm's
   central pressure at 27.49 inHg (930.9 hPa).
   Homes in Galveston such as this one were reduced to timbers by the
   hurricane winds and floods.
   Enlarge
   Homes in Galveston such as this one were reduced to timbers by the
   hurricane winds and floods.

   Ten refugees from the Beaumont train sought shelter at the Point
   Bolivar lighthouse with two hundred residents of Port Bolivar that were
   already there. The eighty-five that stayed with the train died when the
   storm surge overran the tops of the cars.

   By 11 p.m., the wind was southerly and diminishing. On Sunday morning,
   clear skies and a 20 mph breeze off the Gulf of Mexico greeted the
   Galveston survivors.

   The storm continued on, and was tracked into Oklahoma. From there, it
   continued over the Great Lakes while still sustaining winds of almost
   40 mph recorded over Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and passed north of Halifax,
   Nova Scotia, on September 12. From there it travelled into the North
   Atlantic where it disappeared from observations.

Destruction

   Houston, Texas
   11:25 P.M.
   September 9, 1900
   To: Willis Moore
   Chief, U.S. Weather Bureau
   First news from Galveston just received by train which could get no
   closer to the bay shore than six miles where Prairie was strewn with
   debris and dead bodies. About two hundred corpses counted from train.
   Large Steamship stranded two miles inland. Nothing could be seen of
   Galveston. Loss of life and property undoubtedly most appalling.
   Weather clear and bright here with gentle southeast wind.

   G.L. Vaughan
   Manager,
   Western Union, Houston

   At the time of the 1900 storm, the highest point in the city of
   Galveston was only 8.7 feet (2.7 m) above sea level. The hurricane had
   brought with it a storm surge of over 15 feet (4.6 m), which washed
   over the entire island. The surge knocked buildings off their
   foundations, and the surf pounded them to pieces. Over 3,600 homes were
   destroyed, and a wall of debris faced the ocean. The few buildings
   which survived, mostly solidly-built mansions and houses along the
   Strand, are today maintained as tourist attractions.
   A marker along The Strand indicating a building that survived the 1900
   hurricane.
   Enlarge
   A marker along The Strand indicating a building that survived the 1900
   hurricane.

   As terrible as the damage to the city's buildings was, the human cost
   was even greater. Due to the destruction of the bridges to the mainland
   and the telegraph lines, no word of the city's destruction was able to
   reach the mainland. At 11 a.m. on September 9, one of the few ships at
   the Galveston wharfs to survive the storm, the Pherabe, arrived in
   Texas City on the western side of Galveston Bay. It carried six
   messengers from the city. When they reached the telegraph office in
   Houston at 3 a.m. on September 10, a short message was sent to Texas
   Governor Joseph D. Sayers and President William McKinley: "I have been
   deputized by the mayor and Citizen's Committee of Galveston to inform
   you that the city of Galveston is in ruins." The messengers reported an
   estimated five hundred dead. This was considered to be an exaggeration
   at the time.

   The city of Houston knew a powerful storm had blown through, and had
   made ready to provide assistance. Workers set out by rail and ship for
   the island almost immediately. Rescuers arrived to find a city
   completely destroyed. Eight thousand people had lost their lives, a
   fifth of the island's population. Most had drowned or been crushed as
   the waves pounded the debris that had been their homes hours earlier.
   Many survived the storm itself, but died after several days trapped
   under the wreckage of the city, with rescuers unable to reach them. The
   rescuers could hear the screams of the survivors as they walked on the
   debris trying to rescue those they could. They realized that there was
   no hope.
   Deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
   Rank Hurricane            Season Fatalities
   1    "Great Hurricane"    1780   22,000
   2    Mitch                1998   11,000 – 18,000
   3    "Galveston"          1900   8,000 – 12,000
   4    Fifi                 1974   8,000 – 10,000
   5    "Dominican Republic" 1930   2,000 – 8,000
   Main article: List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
   So many died that corpses were piled onto carts for burial at sea.
   Enlarge
   So many died that corpses were piled onto carts for burial at sea.

   The bodies were so numerous that burial was not a viable option.
   Initially, the dead were taken out to sea and dumped. However, the
   currents of the gulf washed the bodies back onto the beach, so a new
   solution was needed. Funeral pyres were set up wherever the dead were
   found. In the aftermath of the storm, pyres burned for weeks.
   Authorities had to pass out free whiskey to the work crews that were
   having to throw the bodies of their wives and children on the burn
   piles.

   More people were killed in this single storm than have been killed in
   the over three hundred hurricanes that have struck the United States
   since, combined, as of 2006. The Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest
   natural disaster in U.S. history.

Rebuilding

   Survivors set up temporary shelters in surplus U.S. Army tents along
   the shore. They were so numerous that observers began referring to it
   as the "White City on the Beach". Others constructed so-called "storm
   lumber" homes, using salvageable material from the debris to build
   shelter.

   By September 12, the first post-storm mail was received at Galveston.
   The next day, basic water service was restored, and Western Union began
   providing minimal telegraph service. Within three weeks, cotton was
   again being shipped out of the port.

   Prior to the Hurricane of 1900, Galveston was considered to be a
   beautiful and prestigious city and was known as "the New York of the
   South." Many people say that had it not been for the hurricane,
   Galveston would today be one of the nation's largest and most beautiful
   cities. However, development shifted north to Houston, which was
   enjoying the benefits of the oil boom. The dredging of the Houston Ship
   Channel in 1909 and 1914 ended Galveston's hopes of returning to its
   former state as a major commercial centre.

Protection

   Sea wall, Galveston district
   Enlarge
   Sea wall, Galveston district

   To prevent future storms from causing destruction like that of the 1900
   hurricane, many improvements to the island were made. The first three
   miles (4.8 km) of the 17-foot-high (5.2 m) Galveston Seawall were built
   beginning in 1902 under the direction of Henry Martyn Robert. An
   all-weather bridge was constructed to the mainland to replace the ones
   destroyed in the storm.

   The most dramatic effort to protect the city was its raising. Dredged
   sand was used to raise the city of Galveston by as much as 17 feet (5.2
   m) above its previous elevation. Over 2,100 buildings were raised in
   the process, including the 3,000-ton St. Patrick's Church. The seawall
   and raising of the island were jointly named a National Historical
   Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers
   in 2001.

   In 1915, a storm of similar strength and track to the 1900 hurricane
   struck Galveston. The 1915 storm brought a 12-foot (4 m) storm surge
   which tested the new seawall. Although 275 people lost their lives in
   the 1915 storm, this was a great reduction from the thousands that died
   in 1900.

   The Galveston city government was reorganized into a commission
   government, a newly devised structure where the government is made of a
   small group of commissioners, each responsible for one aspect of
   governance. This was prompted by fears that the existing city council
   would be unable to handle the problem of rebuilding the city.

   Today, Galveston is home to a major cruise port, two universities, and
   a major insurance corporation. Homes and other buildings that survived
   the hurricane have been preserved, and give much of the city a
   Victorian look. The seawall, since extended to ten miles (16 km), is
   now an attraction itself, as hotels and tourist attractions have been
   built along its length in seeming defiance of future storms.

   The last reported survivor of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, Mrs.
   Maude Conic of Wharton, Texas, died November 14, 2004, at the claimed
   age of 116. (Census records indicate she was younger than that.)

   Modern observation and forecasting help ensure that if another storm of
   similar strength threatens Galveston, the city will not be caught by
   surprise.

Quotations

          "Nature will win if we decide that we can beat it."

                — Bill Read, NWS Galveston, Isaac's Storm documentary

   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
