Galveston Hurricane of 1900

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane on September 8, just before landfall. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere Tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of Tropical depressions
Formed	August 27, 1900
Dissipated	September 12, 1900
Highest winds	150 mph (240 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Lowest pressure	936 mbar (hPa; 27. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar The bar (symbol bar) decibar (symbol dbar) and the millibar (symbol mbar, also mb are units of Pressure. 65 inHg)
Fatalities	6000 – 12,000 direct
Damage	$20 million (1900 USD) $516 million (2008 USD)
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. Inches of mercury, inHg or "Hg is a measuring unit for Pressure. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole: The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. "Galveston" redirects here For the town in the US state of Indiana see Galveston Indiana. The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model roughly coincident The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Atlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the region of Canada comprising four provinces located on the Atlantic coast: TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1900 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and early fall months of 1900 Landfall is the event of a Tropical cyclone (also known as a hurricane or a Waterspout coming onto Land after being over water "Galveston" redirects here For the town in the US state of Indiana see Galveston Indiana. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar It had estimated winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. (For the South African airport with IATA code "KMH" see Johan Pienaar Airport. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere Tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of Tropical depressions The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere Tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of Tropical depressions ^[1]

The hurricane caused great loss of life. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding The death toll has been estimated to be between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals;^[2] 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 Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as the Hurricane San Calixto II, is the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 1998 and lasted until November 30 1998 Hurricane Mitch was one of the deadliest and most powerful Hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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, claimed the lives of approximately 1,800 people. The Okeechobee hurricane, or Hurricane San Felipe Segundo, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States

The hurricane occurred before the practice of assigning official code names to tropical storms was instituted, and thus it is commonly referred to under a variety of descriptive names. Typical names for the storm include the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and, especially in older documents, the Galveston Flood. It is often referred to by Galveston locals as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm.

City of Galveston

At the end of the 19th century, the city of Galveston was a booming town with a population of 42,000 residents. Its position on the natural harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade and the biggest city in the state of Texas. Galveston Bay is a large Estuary located along Texas 's upper coast The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. With this prosperity came a sense of complacency.

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 port cities. Indianola is a Ghost town located on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. TresPalaciosBayFromPorchjpg|thumb|200px|right|Matagorda Bay (Tres Palacios Bay as viewed from a porch in Palacios. 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. The Indianola Hurricane of 1886 destroyed the town of Indianola Texas. ^[3]

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. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, The Gulf Coast region of the United States comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. 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. A seawall is a form of hard and strong Coastal defence constructed on the inland part of a Coast to reduce the effects of strong Waves.

Since its formal founding in 1839, the city of Galveston had weathered numerous storms, all of 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 Daily News in which he argued not only that a seawall was not needed to protect the city, but also that it would be impossible for a hurricane of significant strength to strike the island. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Isaac Monroe Cline ( October 13, 1861 &ndash August 3, 1955) was the chief Meteorologist at the Galveston Texas office The Galveston County Daily News, formerly the Galveston Daily News, is a Newspaper published in Galveston Texas. ^[4]

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. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes.

Storm history

Origins

Storm path

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 harbor. The term Wireless Telegraphy is a historic term used today as applied to early Radio Telegraph communications techniques and practices

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. A Cape Verde-type hurricane is an Atlantic hurricane that develops near the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa. Tropical waves, or easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region are a type of Atmospheric trough, The first formal sighting of the hurricane’s precursor occurred on August 27, about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Windward Islands, when a ship recorded an area of “unsettled weather. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan This article is about the Caribbean island group For the eastern Society Islands in French Polynesia, see Windward Islands (Society Islands. ”

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. Antigua (ænˈtiːgə an-TEE-gah) is an Island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region the main By September 1, U.S. Weather Bureau observers were reporting on a “storm of moderate intensity (not a hurricane)” southeast of Cuba. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. The National Weather Service ( NWS) once known as the Weather Bureau is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la

Warning signs

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. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself The National Weather Service ( NWS) once known as the Weather Bureau is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The Weather Bureau forecasters had no way of knowing where the storm was or where it was going. At the time, they discouraged the use of terms such as tornado or hurricane to avoid panicking residents in the path of any storm event.

Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico were ripe for further strengthening of the storm. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world 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 Orléans, Louisiana issued a report of heavy damage along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. Key West is a city in Monroe County Florida, United States. The city encompasses Key West, the namesake island the part of Stock Island Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Details of the storm were not widespread; damage to telegraph lines limited communication. The Weather Bureau’s central office in Washington, D. C. ordered storm warnings raised from Pensacola, Florida to Galveston. Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the County seat of Escambia County.

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. Warnings and watches are two levels of alert issued by national Weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a Tropical cyclone

The ship Louisiana encountered the hurricane at 1 p. m. that day after departing New Orléans. Captain Halsey estimated wind speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h). These winds correspond to a Category 4 hurricane in the modern-day Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere Tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of Tropical depressions

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. ”^[5] 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 midmorning.

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. Isaac Monroe Cline ( October 13, 1861 &ndash August 3, 1955) was the chief Meteorologist at the Galveston Texas office ^[6] 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. This page is about the non-fiction author For the comic book writer see Erik Larsen; for the Disney animator see Eric Larson.

The storm

The last train to reach Galveston left Houston on the morning of September 8 at 9:45 a. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz 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 95 travelers on the train from Beaumont were not so lucky. Beaumont is a city in and the County seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont&ndash Port Arthur Metropolitan 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’s brother at 3:30 p. m. , reporting “Gulf rising, water covers streets of about half of city. ” Later he regretted not saying the whole city was under water. ^[4] Shortly thereafter, the telegraph lines were cut.

Homes in Galveston such as this one were reduced to timbers by the hurricane winds and floods.

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 was recorded. An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed and is one instrument used in a Weather station. ^[4] The eye passed over the city around 8 p. m. Maximum winds were estimated at 120 mph (190 km/h) at the time, but later estimates placed the hurricane at the higher Category 4 classification on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere Tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of Tropical depressions ^[7] The lowest recorded barometric pressure was 28. 48 inHg (964. Inches of mercury, inHg or "Hg is a measuring unit for Pressure. 4 mbar),^[2] considered at the time to be so low as to be obviously in error. The bar (symbol bar) decibar (symbol dbar) and the millibar (symbol mbar, also mb are units of Pressure. Modern estimates later placed the storm’s central pressure at 27. 49 inHg (930. 9 mbar), but this was subsequently adjusted to the storm's official lowest measured central pressure of 27. 63 inHg (936 mbar).

Ten refugees from the Beaumont train sought shelter at the Point Bolivar lighthouse with 200 residents of Port Bolivar that were already there. The 85 that stayed with the train died when the storm surge overran the tops of the cars. Storm surge or tidal surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system typically a Tropical cyclone. ^[8]

By 11 p. m. , the wind was southerly and diminishing. On Sunday morning, clear skies and a 20 mph (30 km/h) breeze off the Gulf of Mexico greeted the Galveston survivors.

The storm continued on, and was tracked into Oklahoma. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. From there, it continued over the Great Lakes while still sustaining winds of almost 40 mph (as recorded over Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and passed north of Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 12. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. The City of Halifax (est 1841 is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the From there it traveled into the North Atlantic where it disappeared from observations. ^[2]

Impact

Galveston

At the time of the 1900 storm, the highest point in the city of Galveston was only 8. 7 ft (2. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit 7 m) above sea level. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface ^[4] The hurricane had brought with it a storm surge of over 15 ft (4. Storm surge or tidal surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system typically a Tropical cyclone. 6 m),^[10] 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,^[10] and a wall of debris faced the ocean. ^[11] The few buildings which survived, mostly solidly-built mansions and houses along the Strand District, are today maintained as tourist attractions. The Strand District, in downtown Galveston, Texas ( USA) is a National Historic Landmark District of mainly Victorian era buildings

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. ^[12] 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. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Texas City is a city located in Galveston County Texas, a county in the U 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 U. Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Governors of Texas Joseph Draper Sayers ( September 23, 1841 May 15, 1929) was Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1903 S. 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. William McKinley Jr ( January 29, 1843 September 14, 1901) was the twenty-fifth President of the United States, and the last ” The messengers reported an estimated five hundred dead; this was considered to be an exaggeration at the time.

The citizens 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 the city completely destroyed. Eight thousand people — 20% of the island’s population — had lost their lives. Most had drowned or been crushed as the waves pounded the debris that had been their homes hours earlier. Drowning is Death as caused by suffocation when a liquid causes interruption of the body's absorption of oxygen from the air leading to Asphyxia. Debris (ˈdeɪbriː/ /dɛˈbriː is a word used to describe the remains of something that has been otherwise destroyed 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.

So many died that corpses were piled onto carts for burial at sea. The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as the Hurricane San Calixto II, is the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record Hurricane Mitch was one of the deadliest and most powerful Hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 1998 and lasted until November 30 1998 TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1900 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and early fall months of 1900 Hurricane Fifi (or Hurricane Fifi-Orlene) was a catastrophic storm during the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season that made landfall in Belize TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1974 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1974, and lasted until The 1930 Dominican Republic Hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Zenon is the fifth deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1930 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1930 Hurricane Flora is among the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in Recorded history, with a death total of over 7000 TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1963 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1963, and lasted until The Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775, also known as the Independence Hurricane, was a Hurricane that hit the Colony of Newfoundland in September of 1775 The Okeechobee hurricane, or Hurricane San Felipe Segundo, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1928 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1928 1899 Hurricane San Ciriaco, also known as the 1899 Puerto Rico Hurricane, was an intense and long-lived Atlantic Cape Verde-type hurricane which crossed Puerto TemplateHurricane season single. -->The 1899 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1899 This is a list of the deadliest known Atlantic Hurricanes that caused at least 1000 direct deaths the deadliest being the Great Hurricane of 1780, with over 27500 Burial at sea describes the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean normally from a ship or boat

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. ^[13] Funeral pyres were set up wherever the dead were found. A pyre (from the Greek: πυρά pyrá, from πυρ pýr, fire is a structure usually made of Wood, for burning a body as part of a 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. ^[8]

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. Thus, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 remains the deadliest natural disaster in U. S. history.

New York City

The rapidly moving storm was still exhibiting winds of 65mph by the time it reached New York City on September 12, 1900. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar ^[14] The New York Times reported that pedestrian walking became difficult and that one death was attributed to the storm. A sign pole, snapped by wind, landed on a 23-year old man, crushing his skull and killing him instantly, while two others were knocked unconscious. Awnings and signs on many building broke and the canvas roofing at the Fire Department headquarters was blown off.

Closer to the waterfront, along the Battery seawall, waves and tides were reported to be some of the highest in recent memory of the fishermen and sailors. Spray and debris were thrown over the wall, making working along the waterfront dangerous. Small craft in New York harbor were thrown off course and tides and currents in the Hudson river made navigation difficult. The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami In Brooklyn, The Times reported that trees were uprooted, signs and similar structures were blown down, and yachts were torn from moorings with some suffering severe damage. Due to the direction of the wind, one of the more infamous spots in New York, Coney Island, escaped the fury of the storm, although a bathing pavilion at "Bath Beach" suffered damage from wind and waves. ^[15]

Aftermath

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.

Reporter Winifred Bonfils, a young journalist working for William Randolph Hearst, dressed as a boy and was the first reporter on the line at the flood’s aftermath. Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils (born October 14, 1863, Chilton Wisconsin; died May 25, 1936, San Francisco California For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash She delivered an exclusive set of reports and Hearst sent relief supplies by train.

By September 12, the first post-storm mail was received at Galveston. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the The next day, basic water service was restored, and Western Union began providing minimal telegraph service. The Western Union Company ( is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Within three weeks, cotton was again being shipped out of the port. ^[10]

Prior to the Hurricane of 1900, Galveston was considered to be a beautiful and prestigious city and was known as the "Ellis Island of the West” and the "Wall Street of the Southwest. Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. ” . ^[16] However, after the storm, development shifted north to Houston, which was enjoying the benefits of the oil boom. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit 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 center. The Houston Ship Channel in Houston Texas is part of the Port of Houston —one of the United States 's busiest Sea ports The channel

Protection

Seawall, Galveston district

To prevent future storms from causing destruction like that of the 1900 hurricane, many improvements to the island were made. A seawall is a form of hard and strong Coastal defence constructed on the inland part of a Coast to reduce the effects of strong Waves. The first 3 mi (4. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States 8 km) of the 17-foot (5 m) high Galveston Seawall were built beginning in 1902 under the direction of Henry Martyn Robert. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The Galveston Seawall is a Seawall in Galveston Texas, USA that was built after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 for protection from future Hurricanes Henry Martyn Robert ( May 2, 1837 &ndash May 11, 1923) was the author of Robert's Rules of Order, which became the most widely 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 ft (5. 2 m) above its previous elevation. Over 2,100 buildings were raised in the process,^[17] 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. The following is a partial list of historic civil engineering landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964

In 1915, a storm similar in strength and track to the 1900 hurricane struck Galveston. The 1915 storm brought a 12-ft (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 wherein the government is made of a small group of commissioners, each responsible for one aspect of governance. City Commission government is a form of Municipal government which was once common in the United States, but many cities which were formerly governed by commission 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 term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of Architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. The seawall, since extended to 10 mi (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. Wharton is a city in Wharton County, Texas, United States. The population was 9237 at the 2000 Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " ^[18] (Census records indicate she was younger than that. )^[19]

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

See also

• List of tropical cyclones
• List of Atlantic hurricanes

References

• The 1900 Storm. Galveston Newspapers Inc. This is a list of notable Tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin and reason for notability Retrieved on December 18, 2007. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
• Bixel, Patricia Bellis & Turner, Elizabeth Hayes. (2000) Galveston and the 1900 Storm: Catastrophe and catalyst (1st ed. ). University of Texas Press ISBN 0-292-70883-1
• Larson, Erik. (1999) Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History (1st ed. ). New York:Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-609-60233-0
• Lienhard, John H. Raising Galveston. The Engines of Our Ingenuity, University of Houston. Retrieved on December 18, 2007. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Notes

External links

• Galveston Storm of 1900 from the NOAA (as well as similar content from the NOAA History Archives)
• The 1900 Storm - manuscripts, photographs, and other archival holdings from the Galveston and Texas History Center at the Rosenberg Library - including a list of victims
• The 1900 Storm - Galveston Island, Texas - "Remembering the Great Hurricane, September 8, 1900 - A Galveston County Daily News Presentation"
• The early history of Galveston, by Dr. J. O. Dyer, published 1916, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• The great Galveston disaster, containing a full and thrilling account of the most appalling calamity of modern times including vivid descriptions of the hurricane, published 1900, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• Galveston 1900: Storm of the Century Primary Source Adventure, a lesson plan hosted by The Portal to Texas History

	Galveston, Texas
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