Ike stirs memories of Galveston’s 1900 hurricane
Citizens being told to flee Hurricane Ike or face “certain death” have only to look back at the 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston to know the destructive force of a storm.
Hurricane Katrina, of course, is the benchmark in modern times, the storm of August 2005 having killed about 1,800 in New Orleans, but the 1900 Galveston tempest is said to be the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, killing as many as 12,000. (The exact totals have never been known; some estimates put the death toll at 5,000; the U.S. Weather Service says it was 8,000.)
In just one day, the town of 36,000 was destroyed. About 3,600 buildings were demolished. And a city that once fancied itself as the Wall Street of the West was gone, and with it its chances of achieving its potential as the premier deep-water port in Texas.
On Sept. 8, 1900, the storm, which is officially categorized as a Category 4 storm (some say it was actually a 5) with winds of 135 to 150 mph, hit the low-lying island 50 miles from Houston.
Geography and error seemed to have set the scene for disaster.
Isaac Cline, chief of the Galveston Weather Bureau, who is memorialized in Erik Larson’s 1999 bestseller “Isaac’s Storm,” was notified as early as Sept. 4 that the hurricane was brewing. But the weather service thought it was headed for Florida. Galveston apparently didn’t take hurricanes seriously. Indeed, nearly a decade earlier, Cline had posited that Galveston would be protected because of the shallow waters around it.
“Isaac Cline…believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms,” Larson wrote in “Isaac’s Storm.” “The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based was to him preposterous, ‘an absurd delusion.’ ”
By Sept. 7, Cline raised the hurricane flag. Still, few paid it heed. “In Galveston, reassured by Cline’s belief that no hurricane could seriously damage the city, there was celebration,” Larson wrote. “Children played in the rising water. Hundreds of people gathered at the beach to marvel at the fantastically tall waves and gorgeous pink sky until the surf began ripping the city’s beloved beachfront apart.”
By the morning of Sept. 8, the winds were doing a dance in the Gulf of Mexico that would become a tarantella of terror.
By nightfall, two walls of water had met and surged through the city, smashing houses and leaving the city in ruins. One in six residents was killed, including 90 of 93 orphans and the 10 nuns who tried to save them.
There were so many dead that funeral pyres had to be built in Galveston to handle all the bodies. The fires are said to have burned for a couple of months, filling the air with a sickening stench.
It’s hard to believe today as you stroll through the Strand, the downtown area of Galveston. The Texas town is a popular overnight spot for those boarding cruise ships (which is why I was there), and its area of antiques shops, restaurants and hotels, done in turn-of-the-20th-cenutry style, belie its troubled past.
Some believe, too, that Isaac Cline was a convenient scapegoat. He himself claims that he ran up and down the beach warning residents of the danger. And he also lost his pregnant wife in the storm.
But what is clear is that Galveston was not only permanently hobbled 108 years ago; it was permanently humbled.
— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor
[Photos: The wreckage from a hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1900. As many as 12,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless by the storm, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Associated Press file photos.]
16 Comments on “Ike stirs memories of Galveston’s 1900 hurricane”
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September 12th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I love Galveston; I visited this place often to get fresh air during the 5 years I lived in Houston. But I’m glad that the city had the foresight to abandon its plans of building the “Wall Street of the West” here after the fatal 1900 hurricane. There is no point fighting with Mother Nature; it’s a battle that humans can never win. Unfortunately, the City of New Orleans hasn’t learned that lesson after Hurricane Katrina; neither did Miami/Ft. Lauderdale after Hurricane Andrew. By rebuilding these coastal cities as population centers, we are risking more lives, because like it or not, major hurricanes will continue to ravage the Gulf coast states every year for the next 100-200 years and longer. There is no shortage of land in the USA to build major cities, there’s no reason why these cities cannot be moved further inland.
September 12th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Headline “Ike stirs memories of Galveston’s 1900 hurricane.” Really? In whom? Who, in Galviston, is over 107 years old and might be having their “memories stirred.” Ridiculous headline!
September 12th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Move the cities? Galveston is on an island. There are many communities along the I-45 corridor. How exactly could one move the city of Galveston inland? Are they suppose to join up with Texas City or something? Those BOI would never go for any sort of move and I cannot imagine another community giving up its identity so that Galveston can be further inland. Houston is 50 miles inland and certainly will not move over for this proposed foolishness.
September 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I sat in Pensacola for Ivan in 2004 - a big-in-size Cat 3 with 130+ winds. I’d urge anyone on Galveston Island to get OFF now, ASAP. After Ivan, I wouldn’t stay for another direct hit. I am not a particularly religious person but I recited this generic prayer many times that night - it’s the one thing that kept me sane through the awful noise and horrendous storm surge - hope it helps at least one soul who decided to stay there:
Through the long night watches His hand clasps mine; at the break of dawn His hand clasps mine; in the daytime of work and endeavor, from Eternity to Eternity His hand clasps mine.
I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers - be safe
September 12th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I disagree that the headline is ridiculous. I live close to Galveston and if you visit there often as I do, you know how much this storm is part of it’s history and charm. I love Galveston and hope that the city is able to recover from this hurricane.
September 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
if there WERE a kind loving g*d this would NEVER happen!!!
September 13th, 2008 at 1:22 am
One does not have to be 107 years old, or have been there in person, to be affected by the 1900 storm. You only have to know that it happened and understand the complete devastation that it caused. Those of us who have lived there would agree whole-heartedly that Ike begs comparison to, and inspires memories of, the 1900 storm.
September 13th, 2008 at 3:15 am
After the Great Storm, Galveston took ten YEARS raising many parts of the city by 10 feet! In addition, the city built a seawall that curves outward–back toward the ocean–as far as 60th Street. This eastern portion of the island is the heart of the real Galveston which has the greatest depth and breadth of remarkable buildings –from two room cottages to large estates–anywhere in the US!
September 13th, 2008 at 5:19 am
I agree with Craig! His comment about “who is 107 yrs old remembering the storm of the year 1900?” Too FUNNY! Not that the storm then or now is funny. I am a very compassionate person, my heart goes out to all who have lost loved ones in any disaster.
September 13th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I do not doubt that the 1900 hurricane changed the history for Galveston. That was never in question. My comment relates to the sensationalism/inaccuracy of the headline itself. Again, there is no one in Galveston who can say…”I remember the deadliest storm ever…in 1900.” Therefore, no memories could have been stirred. History revisited? Absolutely. Memories awakened? No way. The sensationalism was ridiculous and the headline inaccurate. Journalism 101.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:25 am
anonymous…too scared to put your identity when you try to put down GOD??? isnt that a coward move? God is kind and loving, you dont know the OUTCOME NOR THE MESSAGE. it is also the people’s resposiblility to get out. yes , what happend isnt fair, but thats life. get over yourself. God loves us all. dont blame God for something you dont know the answer to. search deep within yourself. if you are eager enough to put down someone or God why not be someone to make a change…WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT??? dont stand by and be a bystander. I have faith in you to be a positive change. help make laws or programs for those who need the help. if you choose to complain use it in a positive way to do something. the world cant do it by itself, and sometimes it needs someone dedicated to make the change and be a good example. maybe God made this happen to make someone like yourself to realize how much potential you have and can make a difference.
September 14th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
the head line is NOT ridiculous. several of my family friends and mine first thoughts were of the great storm of 1900. that storm forever changed that city. for that matter if i hear of a major storm bearing down on the fl. keys i remember the the poor vets that were killed many many yrs ago in that famous storm. i dont think that if a hurricane could every hit new orleans again no matter how far into the future that people will not not remember kitrina and not say it brings up memories becauses of bks articles and news stories that have been written about all three. thanks
September 17th, 2008 at 7:26 am
natural disaters are part of creation. Read the Bible, understand God and his teachings before you comment on it. Once you receive salvation, you’ll understand death and destruction!Through destruction comes victory. I pray for everyone who has been affected from all hurricanes and look forward to visiting Galveston soon.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:37 pm
i love this is land and would never leave with a fight. For me the title of this artical is 100% right. it was not the first thing on my mind but, it was still there. i may only be 15, i no all about the 1900 storm. and every year we all take a moment and think about what happend and how gratful we are that at least if it happends again, we are more perpared than 108 year ago.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:00 pm
i feel so bad about what happined to these 10 nuns and the 93 orphans even the 6000 orphans from back then in the 1900’s i hope thier in a safe place and happy , gods with us and with them to were ever we go ,and were ever we are he’s watching us and here,and there to save us from any harm ……..always believe in your self and god and if u do it will show u the rite path were ever u go and were u are ……….
March 4th, 2010 at 9:34 am
this is such a trajic story and it iz so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god bless this city.