Throughout the course of history many natural disasters have challenged America and have caused unforgettable devastation. Our nation has experienced it all such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wild fires. Perhaps, the deadliest natural disaster in American history as far as this day is to be Hurricane Galveston in 1900. The United States suffered a great loss of Americans on September 8, when a category four hurricane formed the city of Galveston, Texas. Hurricanes are categorized by their wind speed and hurricane Galveston reached a measure concentration that matches to a modern-day Category 4 storm. Catastrophic damaged occurred, it is recorded that that hurricane Galveston destroyed more than 3,600 buildings. It was possible for the hurricane …show more content…
The United States suffered a great loss, but it did not stay down. The Galveston Hurricane the first known case of a big catastrophe. It was a horrible calamity, but also a chance to learn from our mistakes. That is exactly what Americans did, they took matters into their own hands and decided that something like this would not affect them the same way it did. Instead they would put up a fight and more than a century later we have been able to maintain control during harsh times. It was predicted by professionals that the city of Galveston would never be rebuilt from the hurricane. It was suggested to leave everything behind and to abandoned the city. Rather than abandoning the city, the citizens of Galveston saw this as an opportunity not just to fix, but to remake the city and reform its government. Thus, trying to make Galveston less vulnerable to future storms and flooding. Therefore, a seawall was started in construction and the raising of the city by as much as twenty feet above its previous elevation. For the locals, it was all about learning from what they did wrong the first time and not allowing the same mistakes to happen again. Years shortly a storm hit Galveston, similar to the previous hurricane and it turned it out with no deaths. Many believed that the city was too far north and that a hurricane would not reach or form. Soon after, they knew to take the threat of hurricanes very seriously and to be prepared to evacuate. Building a 17-foot sea wall along three miles of oceanfront gave the population a bit of hope that they would be fine. The locals now knew that they were not immune to hurricanes and the best solution to deal with a hurricane is to evacuate, plain and simple. The most important lesson that was not followed was obeying and realizing the warnings given during hurricane Galveston. Two thirds of the corpses were of women and children, due to those in control at home
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.
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.
Nearly 45 years ago one of the most powerful and damaging weather phenomenon’s ever to be recorded slammed into the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, a storm that effected people far and wide. Camille formed on August 14th just west of the Cayman Islands and rapidly intensified overnight becoming a category 3 hurricane approaching the island of Cuba. The storm trekked north-northwestward across the Gulf and became a stage 5 hurricane and maintained its strength before making landfall on the Mississippi Coast on the eve of August 17th. The devastating aftermath in the weeks to follow induced by the winds, surges, and rainfall took the lives of 256 people, and caused an estimated damage of 1.421 billion dollars.
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.
Imagine the horrors that accompany a great hurricane. Visualize the wind, rain, and waves. Hear the piercing screams through crashing waves, crushing buildings, and trees falling. Picture the great devastation. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was caused by abdominal weather conditions, and led to great destruction. Many lives were lost, and colossal rebuilding of the city had to take place. New city laws and plans were adopted from the hurricane.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most interesting and deadly hurricane to ever hit the United States. This hurricane devastated New Orleans and all of its inhabitants. This hurricane was especially devastating as New Orleans is 13 feet(3.9624 metres) below sea level. The government wasn’t prepared for the damage of New Orleans, and neither were the Levees. The Levee crash was one of the major causes of the flooding in New Orleans. The deaths and damages cost billions. After this storm many people didn’t want to move back to their home, New
Disasters are often followed by reports of damages to the built environment—the cost of buildings, roads, bridges, electricity lines, stores, schools and hospitals. These of course follow the death toll and economic and social impacts of citizen’s lives. It was not different with Hurricane Ike whose 20 feet surge left one of the hugest damages ever. The stories of how it impacted other things for the benefit do not make much of the well-known histories. For Gene Straatmeyer a resident of Bolivar Peninsula— which was most hit by the storm, the story is not just about how destructive it was:
The historical event of Hurricane Katrina, a category three hurricane with winds ranging from 111-130 mph, in August 2005 revealed major structural failures in the levee systems of New Orleans. Though not all structural failures are as catastrophic, the breeched levees led to loss of life, homes, businesses, highways, and left a trail of destruction that is still being repaired today. The result of this failure led to lawsuits, conspiracy theories, and court cases. Hurricane Katrina had a major effect upon our country and those results are still rippling on today. Though a city once devastated, major improvements to the failed system have been made and leave the city feeling safe once again.
The category 3 storm changed the lives of the residence who lived there forever. The storm in combination with the fault of the man-made flood protection walls (levee’s) resulted in the death of at least 1,300 people (1). With nearly half the victims over the age of 74, deaths were caused by; drowning, injury/ trauma and heart conditions (2). Hurricane Katrina was one of the most costliest storms to land on American soil, costing around US$135 billion in damages (3). Although the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina are not as high as other natural disasters, Katrina displaced a massive amount of people from their homes, around 85% of the population were displaced directly after the storm hit (6). Being one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the United States, Hurricane Katrina impacted not only the residence of New Orleans by also many of the surrounding
Through the path of history, there have been several major events that influenced thousands of lives and were significant in forming the world today. One of the largest and deadliest events that occurred in history was a disaster not anybody could control or be held accountable for. This was Hurricane Katrina. On the early Monday morning of August 29th, 2005, a Category 5 rating Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States with winds up to 175 miles per hour and a storm surge of 20 feet high. Hurricane Katrina was one of the greatest and most destructive natural disasters recorded to make landfall in the United States. The natural causes of the hurricane, poorly structured levees, disaster inside the Superdome, and the
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi...
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.
Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane at its highest, made impact between August 23-30th 2005, and has since gone down as the most devastating and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. In preparation for the impact of the storm, on August 27th 2005, two days before the hurricane made landfall, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Waterford nuclear plant was shut down for precautionary reasons in the wake of the oncoming storm and mandatory evacuations were issued for large parts of the southeast. Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans stated that about 80% of the 480,000 people asked to evacuate heeded warnings. Evacuation orders were also made for areas along the Mississippi coast, low-lying coastal areas in Alabama, as well as the barrier islands in western Florida Panhandle.
On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...
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...