http://www.1900storm.com/photographs/index.lasso
Remembering the 1900 Storm ...
On September 8, 1900, a hurricane struck Galveston. Winds estimated at 140 mph swept over the island, leaving devastation in their wake. After the storm surge of 15.7 feet subsided, Galvestonians left their shelters to find 6,000 of the city's 37,000 residents dead and more than 3,600 buildings totally destroyed.
The 1900 Storm is still considered to be the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. After the storm, Galveston constructed a seawall and raised the grade of the island to protect it from future hurricanes.
Facts about the 1900 Storm:
• 8.7 feet: The highest elevation on Galveston Island in 1900.
• 15.7 feet: The height of the storm surge.
• 28.55 inches: Barometric pressure recorded in Galveston, 30 miles from where the eye of the storm is best estimated. At the time, this was the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded.
• 6,000 to 8,000: Number of people estimated to have died during the storm.
• 37,000 people: Population of Galveston in 1900.
• 3,600: Number of buildings destroyed by the storm.
• 130 to 140 miles per hour: Speed meteorologists estimate the winds reached during the storm.
• $20 million: Estimated damage costs related to the storm. In today's dollars, that would be more than $700 million.
http://www.1900storm.com/facts.lasso
Oh, here's a good site with information on a lot of the hurricanes and storms that struck the U.S. for the past 100 years:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml
~Anna Kathryn (who's in Baton Rouge, after evacuating Houston ahead of Ike)
10 comments:
Hi Anna,
I've seen the pictures and footage from old newsreels of the 1900 hurricane. It was terrible.
You're smart to move out of harms way. I can't imagine being in the Houston area without electricity for days.
Hope you and your family stay safe and that the storm looses some of it's intensity.
You make me appreciate NJ road rage!
cmr
Great links for information about hurricanes, Anna. And I don't blame you for leaving Houston. My family down there has elected to stay and ride the storm out as they have every storm in the past 25 years. So for many reasons I hope and pray the storm is not devastating to the city. :-) Good luck.
I was astonished to see the admonition from the weather service saying that anyone who stayed in Galveston would face
"certain death." Can't say it any clearer than that! Glad you're safe Anna!
My daughter and her kids evacuated from Clear Lake yesterday, made it to far North Texas. Hope to have a house when they return. Glad you are safe also. I'll stick to my Oklahoma tornadoes, they come and go fast, you can see them coming and you don't have to watch them come for five days, wondering if the monster will eat you up or not.
Wow, such devastation! Such chilling photographs. Hope you and your family stay safe, and Ike has some mercy on Texas.
Thanks for all the thoughts. I'll keep you posted. My husband has stayed behind because of his job, so as long as the phone works, I'll get updates on my house.
I am glad I'm out. Here in Baton Rouge, we've been getting some rain bands and winds, but nothing bad. They are still recovering from Gustav. While driving to the store, I came across several power crews working on lines. There are still people here in Louisiana without power.
~Anna Kathryn
Stay safe.
Hi Anna,
I hope you find everything ok when you return. My coworker said that her sister, who lives in Baton Rouge, just got her power back yesterday.
We live just far enough up and over to keep out of Ike's path.
Take care and don't get in a big hurry to go back. Just make it a long vacation. It's no fun to go without power for weeks on end.
Prayers going out to Texas.
Hi Anna,
Our prayers are with you. My husband's great uncles and aunts moved from Chicago to Galveston in 1901 to help rebuild. The opportunities were great considering the effects of that hurricane. They are buried in the Galveston cemetary, which is a raised bed cemetary.
Averil Reisman
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