Hurricanes are amongst one the deadliest natural calamities wreaking havoc in their way. In the past years, the USA has experienced quite a few hurricanes. The September of 1900 became a fateful month in the history of America as the deadliest hurricane hit its shore.
The Great Galveston hurricane is still the deadliest storm in US history. The US weather Beareu had been recently developed, it being only 10 years old at the time still used old methods to track the storm. So, the destruction was massive due to inaccurate preparedness. Let’s get to know all about this catastrophe.
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The Gavelston Hurricane
The hurricane was a Category 4 storm and it became the death of 8000 people though some estimates go as high as 12,000. However this was the deadliest storm to hit the US, neither was it the biggest nor the strongest. The underdeveloped technology of the time can be held accountable for this. In the 1900s the ships sailing through the sea were the only predictable source of any weather report.
The ships arriving prior to the hurricane reported turbulence in the weather in the Atlantic. The government started receiving damage reports from Cuba, Florida, and along the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi. A day before the storm hit there was a warning issued to Galveston Texas but no one took it seriously.
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The Destruction
At the time of the storm, there was a population of 36,000 people in the city which was situated only 8’7 feet above sea level. We can all predict the immense damage as there was an estimated storm surge of 15 feet with the winds moving at more than 130 miles per hour.
There were around 3,600 buildings that changed into rubble and only a handful of people survived. All the communications were cut and the world only got to know about this destruction when a few people took a boat and reached Huston after two days.
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