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1900: The human story of the 1900 storm
Isaac’s Storm
What you need to know before your trail
Galveston, Texas, 8 September 1900. It’s another fine day in the Gulf according to Isaac Cline, chief observer of the new US Weather Bureau, but one day later, 6-10,000 people were dead, wiped out by the biggest storm the coast of America had ever witnessed.
It was to be the worst natural disaster ever to befall America to this day: between six and ten thousand people died, including Isaac Cline’s wife and unborn child. With them died Cline’s and America’s hubris: the storm had simply blown them away. Told with a novelist’s skill this is the true story of an awful and terrible natural catastrophe.
Travel Guide
Galveston
The Great Galveston Hurricane was a Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 145 mph (233 km/h). It hit Galveston on September 8, 1900
Between 6,000 and 12,000 people were either injured or dead
The storm blew up in Cuba. It was, in modern jargon, an X-storm – an extreme hurricane – and it did not circle around the Gulf of Mexico as storms routinely did. On 8 September 1900 it ploughed straight into Galveston. It was the meteorological equivalent of the Big One.
“In reality, there was no island, just the ocean with houses standing out of the waves which rolled between them,” Cline wrote.
The history of the city can be seen close to the harbour and indeed in the buildings which date from that time. Be sure to visit the Opera House and spend time on the Oil Rig for a really unique view of the city and port! The Texas Seaport museum is the place to visit for the full picture of the city’s history
Streetview Maps
A) TX - Galveston - Texas Seaport Museum
C) TX - Galveston - Grand Old Opera House
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Isaac’s Storm
Author/Guide: Erik Larson Destination: Galveston Departure Time: 1900
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