On the eighth of September 1900, a category four hurricane set its eye on the rich port of Galveston, Texas. 140 mph winds surge ships over roofs and flings shrapnel (1900storm.com – Facts and Figures). Fifteen foot tides construct widespread wreckage walls, plowing over much of the island. The new Weather Bureau’s sole Galveston Proxy, Issac Cline, fills his home with fifty or more evacuees. Within hours, less than six remain (“Perfect Storms: The Great Galveston Hurricane.”). Unblocking streets risks losing a cadaver or the rare survivor. But America over-looks typhoons, counting the largest and deadliest (geology.com). At least, until a wizard debuts footage of the wreckage. Edison calls it the upper class’ worst burden “since the Johnstown …show more content…
Even if after the fact, impact of Edison’s activities creates modern dis-aster organizations, for example, early “Storm Chasers.” 38 years before the "first" storm chaser David K. Hoadley is born, the camera crews fit the boot of pursuing localities regardless of mo-tives, be it curiosity, adventure, scientific investigation, or for news or media coverage (wikipe-dia.org). The clips are a first for news and the field of meteorology. Born of Edison’s men, they are some of first responders (stormtrack.org) and warn of oncoming threats. As more footage comes back, the public calls on the nineteen-year-old Red Cross. Under 78-year-old Clara Bar-ton, they build homes, and pay for it by selling storm chaser photos. Selling the photos brought forth help to pay for $20 million in damages (1900storm.com - Facts and Figures). With laborers “pale and ill,” Barton “needed the help of a steadying hand…” (1900storm.com - Clara Barton and the Red Cross). The Galveston quagmire proves Barton’s last mission, striking hard in the heart of the Red Cross, invigorating to improve conditions. Galveston, no longer the wall street of Texas anymore, puts new safety protocol into the works. In 1902 (abc13.com), construction begins on three miles of the wall (wikipedia.org), to stop surges that raise over a meter in four seconds (Kovach, McGuire, pg. 78). An island-wide, story-high …show more content…
Protests pay off March 17th, 1952, when “tornado” is the first term they unban (alabamawx.com) . The disaster protec-tion systems bloom where other cities blunder. In 2005, the Red Cross comes to the aid of an off-guard New Orleans, who, like Galveston, gets a surprise visit. In an ironic twist, Menlo Park floods as Sandy terrorizes New York City. Larson names how some “…believe that technology had stripped hurricanes of their power to kill” can show modern society. “No hurricane expert endorsed this view (Larson, pg. 272).” Humanity’s vanity is what leads to many disasters in the past, the present, and will continue into the future. For this, the fountains of education must flow, to stall the next devastation, and to keep account of the past. With the last survivor, Lor-raine Hofeller, passing in 2002 (lubbockonline.com), history fades. After all, the Weather Bureau would become the National Weather Service (weather.gov). The smarter citizens are, the more that stand taking action against regrettable decisions. Al’s films wanting relief efforts see forces of 10,000 nukes (howstuffworks.com) as more than storm clouds. Be it a publicity stunt or legit-imate care, lightning in storms shall remind of the inventor whose actions fund thousands of
Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson was a very fascinating book because it is difficult to say absolutely what the true subject of the book is. There are three key players in the book, first it is Isaac Cline a meteorologist for the U.S Weather Bureau, The U.S. Weather Bureau itself, and finally the storm of 1900. However, all three elements collaborate with one another in a significant way. The storm of 1900 is the main catalyst for one of the most devastating storms in the United States. However, the Weather Bureau and Isaac Cline both had an impact on the outcome of the catastrophic storm. The book generally focuses on the Galveston Hurricane of 1990, but more so the actions that Isaac Cline takes, or didn’t take rather. It was very tricky to
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature.
Once there was, as never before, a hurricane of great might and strength. As never before, there once was a hurricane of many names: storm, cyclone, tempest, typhoon, and flood. Yet it has lived on in history as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Humanity has glorified and immortalized the hurricane. The Great Galveston Hurricane has been the subject of numerous articles, novels, plays, and poems, as well as four major nonfiction studies (Longshore). It is truly one of hurricane lore’s greatest of storms.
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.
A.S.A. & Co. “Hurricane History Facts.” New York Times, New York Times. 17 Jan. 2008. The 'Standard' Web.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
The film “When the Levees Broke” of spike lee is a four part series covering the events that took place before and after the devastation of Katrina on New Orleans and its residents. In August 2005, New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina. People were unprepared for the disaster. As the city was flooding, levees safeguard failed the city, which caused the city to go underwater. In the film, part 1 shows hurricane Katrina and it’s impact. The flooding, rescue efforts and people trying to survive the disaster. Part 2 shows the aftermath with people that were evacuated waiting for help to come to the city. It was a very slow response to help and everyone was just waiting. Part 3 shows how people started to recover. Many hoped to return to their
On Friday evening, September 7, 1900, many of the 37,000 residents of Galveston, Texas, were settling down to dinner, few if any of them concerned about the steady 15 mph northerly wind rattling their windows. Within 48 hours, at least 8,000 of the townspeople would be dead, victims of the single worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Relatively few people are aware that the deadliest natural disaster in the United States was the hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900. One of the best resources that can be found to help fully understand the significance of this storm is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with winds up to one-hundred and forty miles per hour. Katrina was one of the costliest and deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States. One-thousand eight hundred deaths, seven hundred missing and one-million displaced is evidence of the human toll that Katrina caused and $84 billion in cost makes Katrina the most expensive natural disaster in United States history. (Blackwell) While these numbers are devastating, the environmental impacts of Katrina still threaten the citizens of New Orleans today. The environmental impacts from Katrina were compounded by man-made environmental hazards. (West)
On August 27, 1965, a weather satellite detected a weak tropical disturbance, which was named Betsy, near the Barbados. However, by August 29th the “disturbance” had grown into a hurricane. Betsy not only became one of the most dangerous, but also one of the most expensive storms in the history of the United States. In fact, Time Magazine has rated Hurricane Betsy number 11 in its “Most Destructive U.S. Hurricanes of All Time.” Moreover, this famous hurricane gained the nickname “Billion Dollar Betsy” because it was the first tropical storm to have caused more than $1 billion dollars in damage.
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.