What foolish things did the people of Galveston TX do during the hurricane of 1900 that resulted in many death?

Posted on December 28th, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized

I have to answer this in a paper that’s due tomorrow and I don’t own the book it’s on: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Warnings were inadequate; even weather forecasters did not realize until very late the gravity of the situation. Additionally, many people believed the barrier island was adequately protected against hurricanes. One of these people was Isaac Cline, the man Larsen’s book is about. Cline refused to believe the hurricane would seriously devastate the island, and so refused to call for evacuation. Cline was also consulted as to the benefit of building a seawall to protect the city, which Cline also deemed ridiculous and unnecessary. Thus, many people did not see a need to evacuate, and felt they would be safe to stay.

Even those who did try to evacuate had a hard time. Because Galveston is an island, ferries were needed to evacuate people to the mainland. Because so many waited so long, the gulf was too rough for ferry runners to successfully evacuate many of those who wanted to leave. Worse still, it became impossible even to get to the ferry docks. The best form of transportation available was trains, and when the storm began to hit, many tracks were quickly overrun with rainwater.

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One Response to “What foolish things did the people of Galveston TX do during the hurricane of 1900 that resulted in many death?”

  1. Hamburger Says:
    December 28th, 2011 at 9:18 am

    Warnings were inadequate; even weather forecasters did not realize until very late the gravity of the situation. Additionally, many people believed the barrier island was adequately protected against hurricanes. One of these people was Isaac Cline, the man Larsen’s book is about. Cline refused to believe the hurricane would seriously devastate the island, and so refused to call for evacuation. Cline was also consulted as to the benefit of building a seawall to protect the city, which Cline also deemed ridiculous and unnecessary. Thus, many people did not see a need to evacuate, and felt they would be safe to stay.

    Even those who did try to evacuate had a hard time. Because Galveston is an island, ferries were needed to evacuate people to the mainland. Because so many waited so long, the gulf was too rough for ferry runners to successfully evacuate many of those who wanted to leave. Worse still, it became impossible even to get to the ferry docks. The best form of transportation available was trains, and when the storm began to hit, many tracks were quickly overrun with rainwater.
    References :

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