Galveston Island Case Study

Geologically speaking, Louisiana is a very young state. Environmentally speaking, Louisiana is a very fragile state. Louisiana has always been dependent upon the nutrient rich deposits from the Mississippi River to build up the land. Centuries ago the Mississippi River periodically changed its course, building up Louisiana one delta at a time. The erosional forces of the Gulf of Mexico and annual hurricanes depleted Louisiana’s coastline, but the mighty Mississippi River would replenish the land losses. Such is the relationship that forces of nature have with one another. Place mankind in the mix, and the relationship becomes stressed and dysfunctional. The present day Louisiana coastline is a mere shadow of its former self. Let’s look

The 1900 Hurricane in Galveston destroyed a majority of the towns infrastructure and killed a significant amount of the population. One of the main reasons behind the level of devastation was do to the fact that the city was not at all prepared to face a storm as large as the one that hit in 1900, the city had a very low elevation with its highest point being only 9 feet above the sea level, and had very little if any means of protection from Hurricanes(1.). By 1900 Galveston had already been hit with several destructive storms in the past but they were not severe enough for the citizens of Galveston to start making more efforts to curb the potential damage a larger storm could have in the future and thus do to something on a

Al Gore anticipated Sea levels rising and the Sea levels have been ascending for as far back as century and the pace has just expanded in the previous decade as ice sheets liquefy speedier and water temperatures increment, causing seas to extend. Ocean level changes from 1993– 2006 where, from June 2006 to January 2016, ocean levels expanded around 41.24 millimeters (1.62 inches). From 33.54 millimeters to 74.48 millimeters in a decade and just running up with the greater

“Human bodies bobbed facedown in the water, bumping against the boat” (“Anderson vii”). By September 7, 1900, Galveston was the 4th largest city in Texas (“Galveston”). It was a growing and flourishing port city of 37,000 (resources); and one of the wealthiest cities in the country (“Galveston”). On September 8, 1900 a powerful hurricane slammed into Galveston (“Galveston”). Its’ highest wind speed recorded before the anemometer blew away was 100 mph, but the speeds were estimated as high as 135 mph (“Galveston”). Over 3,600 buildings were destroyed in the hurricane causing 30,000 people to be homeless (“Galveston”). A 15-foot storm surge engulfed the entire island leaving the highest point of the island just over 8 feet above sea level (“Galveston”). Evacuation was almost impossible (“Galveston”). At first their estimation of

In the turn of the new century, the people of Galveston were faced with a grim reminder. The event that destroyed the small island of Galveston, the Galveston Hurricane, had many social, political, and economic impacts that made this storm life-changing. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 improved Texas for the better and helped Galveston grow stronger as a city.

Rising sea level can be caused by a variety of factors and can have an effect or influence even more. Future changes in sea level may impact human populations around the world and many other aspects of life on Earth more than many initially thought. The U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico is on track to be one of the most impacted by further sea level rise and the outcome could be detrimental to the entire coastline.

Galveston, Texas is located 50 miles southeast of Houston. It is known as a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast of the United States. The city Galveston, Texas was the home of around 37,000 residents in the early 1900’s. This island grew from being a small settlement into one of the wealthiest cities in the country. It was normal for people to visit Galveston, Texas for it was known as a "tourist attraction". There was always the idea of building a seawall to protect Galveston from future hurricanes but it was never built. Although many hurricanes had hit the city several times in the past (before 1900) no one would have thought that a hurricane that would

Galveston was the leading port in the state of Texas and had a population of about 37,000 people during the 1900. Being a city on the gulf coast, getting hit by a hurricane was expected. Galveston has been hit with many hurricanes before but one particular hurricane almost wiped out the whole city. On September 8th, 1900, a potent hurricane producing wind up to 120 miles per hour and flooded the city with about 15 feet of water made landfall. The aftermath of the hurricane was horrific, it broke the city down to rubbles and a few thousands of people lost their lives. The city had a choice of either being wiped off the map from the hurricane’s damage or to start the rebuild process as soon as possible. Galveston chose to unite as one and

Galveston which is located on Galveston Island is a twenty-nine mile strip of land estimated about two miles off the coast of Texas. With the miles of beaches and nice weather it was a popular resort and seemed to be headed in the direction to become the New York City of the Gulf Coast. It had also become a commercial port which was thriving. On September 8th, 1900 this changed. Many vacationers on this day did not pay attention to the warnings let out by the United States Weather Bureau to get to higher ground. Little did they know a category four hurricane was about to strike the city becoming the nation’s deadliest natural disaster still to this day. About six to eight thousand people lost their lives out of about thirty-six thousand total on the island. (about 20%) In comparison these deaths were greater than the combined of the Johnstown Flood and San Francisco Earthquake.

When many think of the worst hurricanes in the united states they think of hurricane katrina and that's what many believe but that sadly is incorrect .On September 8th in 1900 a casual saturday morning one of the most horrific hurricanes struck its way into galveston texas in which is referred to as “The Great Hurricane Galveston”. The great Hurricane Galveston is one of the most deadliest natural disasters in american history. It happened to kill between 6 and 12,000 people. It was a category 4 storm with winds up to 145 mph . The storm arose about 15 feet high within hours. This severe storm was situated about 9 feet above sea level ,numerous amounts of homes were desto about 3,600 buildings were destroyed.

“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end,” said Robin Sharman. Advancements and progress that came from innovational minds took time and there were many obstacles and hardships. During the 1900s the world gave birth of the bright minds of the Wright Brothers that gave the world’s first successful airplane, also the modifications of the corset gave way to new fashion styles and trends and finally the tragic Galveston Hurricane paved the pathway of new mechanics and progressive ideas. Before, the thought of people being in the air and flying seemed impossible and dangerous, but the 1900s was a decade of advancement and many innovative minds such as Orville and Wilbur Wright, tried to build a “flying machine”. Unlike

Not only was was the grade of the entire city raised, but a 50 ft. seawall was built to protect it. Within a decade, five hundred city blocks had been raised with sand from the Galveston ship channel. These new improvements later proved to be up to standard in 1915 when a Category three hurricane made landfall in Galveston. This Hurricane had winds up to 193 mph, making it a repeat of the Hurricane of 1900, although with new city improvements, it passed without devastation. But what effects did this hurricane have on the residents in 1900, and today's current residents?

The hurricane appears to have started as an atmospheric trough from West Africa, causing unsettled weather in the Caribbean, and emerging into the Florida Straits as a tropical storm on September 5. Owing to contradictory forecasts, the people of Galveston felt no alarm until the official hurricane warning of September 7. Next morning a storm surge of 15 ft (4.6 m) washed over the long, flat island-city which was only 8 ft (2.4 m) above sea level, knocking

Before the hurricane, Galveston was a prospering city of approximately 37,000 citizens. The reason why Galveston had achieved such financial prowess was because of its prime location as a trade port in the Gulf of Mexico. A few days before the hurricane, the United States Weather Bureau informed the city fathers

The combination of these and other trends was an estimated average sea-level increase of 1.5mm per year between 1961 and 2003, which reached 2.4mm per year in the decade from 1993 to 2003. The decades prior to this trend showed only minor fluctuations in sea-level, suggesting that the current rate exceeds what could be caused by natural cycles. While the exact impact of rising oceans is difficult to determine, it is certain that the consequences will include some degree of flooding, integration of salt water into water tables, and a loss of land due to coastal erosion and submersion.6