THE DEADLIEST DISASTER IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

[CaptinCrunch]

THE GALVESTON HURRICANE OF 1900

ON SEPTEMBER 8,1900, THE DEADLIEST DISASTER IN UNITED STATES HISTORY OCCURRED. AN ESTIMATED 8000 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE THAT STRUCK GALVESTON ON THAT DAY. BY THE MORNING OF THE 7TH STORM FLAGS WERE RAISED INDICATING THAT A POWERFUL STORM WAS HEADED IN THAT DIRECTION. SO WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE PERISH? EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE WARNED...LESS THAN HALF THE POPULATION EVACUATED. BY EARLY ON THE 8TH WATER WAS ALREADY COVERING LOWER PARTS OF THE ISLAND. BUT MANY OF THE INHABITANTS HAD SEEN THIS BEFORE. SOME IN FACT WANTED TO GET CLOSER TO THE BEACH TO WATCH THE IMPRESSIVE WAVES. THEY HAD SEEN WATER RISE LIKE THAT WITH OTHER STORMS AND SURVIVED...WHY WOULD THIS TIME BE ANY DIFFERENT? BUT THIS TIME WAS DIFFERENT. THIS HURRICANE HIT GALVESTON ALMOST HEAD ON. THE EYE MADE LANDFALL JUST SOUTHWEST OF THE ISLAND. THIS PLACED GALVESTON IN THE REGION OF STRONGEST WINDS AND GREATEST STORM SURGE. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE FELL RAPIDLY AS WATER LEVELS ROSE TO MORE THAN 15 FT ABOVE NORMAL. THE LAST RECORDED WIND SPEED WAS 84 MPH AT AROUND 6PM AT, WHICH TIME THE ANEMOMETER AT THE WEATHER BUREAU BLEW AWAY. THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE ESTIMATED TO HAVE REACHED NEAR 130 MPH. BY THE TIME MOST RESIDENTS REALIZED THE DANGER THEY WERE IN. IT WAS TOO LATE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND. IN ADDITION TO ALL THE TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE LINES BEING DOWN...ALL PATHS TO THE MAINLAND HAD BEEN DESTROYED. THE BEST THEY COULD DO WAS TO TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE CENTER OF THE ISLAND OR FIND A BUILDING STILL STANDING. BUT THAT BECAME ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE AS CONDITIONS KEPT DETERIORATING. BY THE TIME THE STORM PASSED NEARLY HALF OF THE HOMES HAD BEEN SWEPT AWAY.

[southerngale]

Thank God we've come a long way since then. The stories from that hurricane are truly amazing...and sad.

[Josephine96]

Yes Thank God things have got better the past 100 plus years

[njoynit]

A few weeks ago the history channel showed 2 shows on that storm."Issiacs Storm"& one about the rebuilding of Galveston.When storm hit Galveston they were the most populated town in the state of TX.
When was 15 or 16 lived in Corpus Christi& one hit believe was Kingston...was that direction anyway.& the wind seemed to howl forever.Hurt ears.was some storm serge cause of tides.after seeing Galveston story makes ya think.Hard to forget about the orphange& all those kids.I think was 10 nuns 93 kids no nuns surviverd and 3 kids did.Is a monument on seawall for them.& recently CC removed some sand dunes from a section of beach...believe someone complained about his veiw..hope a storm takes his house,will have beach erosion in that spot now.

Also storm instrments were alot different& fewer back then.That was pointed out in movie.