Term Paper on "1900 Storm of Galveston"

Term Paper 4 pages (1474 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

However with the publication of Erik Lawson's book "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A time, and the deadliest Hurricane in History" new light has been shed on the events surrounding that day. Isaac failed to notify the people of his city about the storm. He lost his pregnant wife due to the storm and was estranged with his brother because of his inaccurate predictions. Furthermore it is said that around 8000-12000 lives were lost and not 6000 as predicted.

The highest wind speed recorded by Cline was 100 miles per hour - and that was before the anemometer blew away. The weather bureau later estimated that for nearly two straight hours the wind reached a sustained velocity of "at least" 120 miles per hour. Some later argued that gusts of 200 miles per hour raked the Galveston coast. (John Christian Hoyle, The Worst Weather Ever Christian Science Monitor, 1999)

The storm took the lives of a lot of people. Amongst them were the Sisters of Charity Orphanage. 10 Sisters and 90 children lost their lives. The Sisters ran an infirmary and an orphanage. The orphanage was located on the beach. On the day of the storm Sister Elizabeth Ryan had commuted to town to get food for the children. She rushed back to the orphanage to be with the children. The storm water had reached the dormitories and was slowing causing the buildings to collapse. The sisters gathered all the children into the girl's dorm. They sang "Queen of the Waves" to calm the children down. In order to save their lives the sisters tied six to seven children around their waist. It was a very brave gesture on their part to protect the children. Sadly the storm waters claimed their lives and only 3 children managed to survive. The survivors lived to tell the eye witness encounter of the sisters' bravery. Thus every year on September the 8th the Sisters of the Charity Orphanage sing "Queen of the Waves" around the same time they perished.

Clara Barton played a very important role in the reconstruction of the Galveston society. She established an orphanage with the help of the American Red Cross. She raised money to purchase lumber for the rebuilding of houses by selling pictures of the destruction caused by the storm. The New York world newspaper aided the American Red Cross by donating all its contributions it received provided if Clara Barton visited the disaster area. Clara Barton provided all sorts of humanitarian help there, though it saddened her a lot to see a loss of human lives.

Due to their undying love for their city, the residents of Galveston decided to rebuild their precious city. All the debris was cleaned up and all the dead were buried. The city officials decided to build a seawall in front of the beach and raise the level of the city. Buildings were jacked up and elevated. The city built Catwalks along houses and buildings. Canals were dug up in order to absorb the water and sand. However the city wasn't the same as it was before. There were a lot of memories of the sad aftermath of the storm. Despite that the people of the city were determined to move on. They refused to let a storm affect their lives forever.

In reality, there was no island, just the ocean with houses standing out of the waves which rolled between them,"(Isaac Cline, Storms, Flood and Sunshine, 1945, Pelican Publishing).

Aftermath

Isaac Cline went on to become an expert on Hurricanes. He studied their patterns and developed a system to forewarn people. His past mistakes could not set things right but he wanted to ensure a better future. His boss at the Washington Bureau was fired for gross negligence. The ban on forecasts from Cuba was overturned a few days after the disaster. The city of Galveston is still there facing the prospect of a storm.

Works Cited

The 1900 Storm: Tragedy and Triumph, 2003 (http://www.1900storm.com/storm/storm2.lasso)

T.H. Watkins, Blown Away, The Washington Post, 1999

Erik Lawson, "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A time, and the deadliest Hurricane in History, Random House, 1999

John Christian Hoyle, The Worst weather ever,… READ MORE

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