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N0KFQ > TODAY 08.09.15 16:24l 71 Lines 3215 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 66479_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Sep 8
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<VE3UIL<VA7TSA<W4BFB<ECBBS<N0KFQ
Sent: 150908/1419Z 66479@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
1900
Deadly hurricane batters Texas
One of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history hits Galveston,
Texas, on this day in 1900, killing more than 6,000 people. The
storm caused so much destruction on the Texas coast that reliable
estimates of the number of victims are difficult to make. Some
believe that as many as 12,000 people perished, which would make
it the most deadly day in American history.
Galveston Island lies just off the Texas coast. It is long and
narrow, about 28 miles long by 2 miles wide, and is barely above
sea level. The harbor on the bay side of Galveston was a prime
port with numerous rail connections. As a major hub for trade,
thousands of people settled on the island at the end of the 19th
century.
It was a Friday afternoon when the residents of Galveston first
got an indication that a storm was imminent. For a few days the
storm had been bearing down on the Texas coast, coming across the
Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys. At the time, there was no
reliable warning system in place for hurricanes; it was not until
1908 that ships began radioing the mainland about approaching
storms.
The storm hit Galveston on Saturday, September 8, with sustained
winds of at least 115 miles per hour; the town's wind gauge blew
away so the wind speed may have been even higher. A Category 4
hurricane, the storm brought with it an enormous storm surge and,
by 3 p.m., water had covered nearly the entire island. It came in
waves that were 15 feet higher than the mean tide. At the Bolivar
Point lighthouse, there was a report that salt water spray from
the ocean reached a height of 115 feet. Buildings crumbled and
fell from the force of the water and high winds ripped the roofs
off of nearly every building in town. Many Galveston businesses
and families had installed slate roofs after a serious 1885 fire
and these roofs became flying weapons of destruction as the
hurricane tossed them through the air.
The St. Mary's Orphanage collapsed and killed all the
inhabitants. At the Ursuline Convent, 1,000 people gathered
seeking shelter, but when a 10-foot retaining wall fell, the
entire front part of the convent collapsed. Ships in the harbor
were tossed into each other and some were later found 30 miles
away. Survivors reported seeing corpses floating all over and
around the island. Thousands died in Galveston and at least
another 2,000 on the mainland coast also perished. Precise
numbers will never be known, in part because thousands of bodies
were disposed of in the Gulf of Mexico without being counted or
identified. When Clara Barton of the Red Cross came to Galveston
soon after the disaster she said, "It would be difficult to
exaggerate the awful scene here."
Galveston began to rebuild almost immediately. On October 2,
1902, construction began on a massive protective sea wall. Two
years later, the wall, 16 feet thick by 17 feet high and
constructed of cement, stone and steel bars, was complete. By
1910, the population of Galveston had grown to 36,000. Thanks to
the city's preparations, when a comparable storm hit in 1915,
only eight people died.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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