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Once there was, as never before, a hurricane of great might and strength. As never before, there once was a hurricane of many names: storm, cyclone, tempest, typhoon, and flood. Yet it has lived on in history as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Humanity has glorified and immortalized the hurricane. The Great Galveston Hurricane has been the subject of numerous articles, novels, plays, and poems, as well as four major nonfiction studies (Longshore). It is truly one of hurricane lore’s greatest of storms. Such greatness had innocuous and humble beginnings. Like all hurricanes that have existed, is existing, and will exist, the hurricane originated within the waters of the world and from the winds of the world. The temperate waters of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean gave rise to the storm upon August 31, 1900. Its birthplace was roughly 400 miles west of Africa’s Cape Verde Islands (Longshore). All that which lives must grow and flourish, and so too did the storm grow and flourish. The ocean itself nourished the fledgling storm, for all hurricanes derive their energy from the evaporation of water from the ocean surface. The wind itself powered the hurricane, for all parents seek to raise their children above themselves. With such sustenance, the cyclone swiftly deepened (Longshore). Yet as all younglings do, the hurricane drifted away from its progenitors. Borne upon its own winds, the hurricane whirled westward at speeds between 12 and 15 miles per hour (Longshore). It was like a newborn foal discovering its legs for the first time and thus altogether too eager to move of its own volition. A sense of wanderlust for the world infused the entity’s essence. Curiosity and inquisitiveness emanated from the deve... ... middle of paper ... ...n an expensive project to protect the island from future hurricanes. A 17-foot seawall, which ultimately reached 10.4 miles, was built along the island’s Gulf Coast. They also launched a project designed to increase the island’s overall elevation above sea level by using city blocks (Ackerman). Despite all these renovations and rebuilding, Galveston was no longer the distinguished commercial nexus of Texas (Hoogenboom). As the hurricane has ended, the city of Galveston ended. However in its ending, Galveston created its own beginning. By 1910, it recovered in population and thrived in success. By 1912, the Galveston’s reconstructed wharves and modern cotton compresses handled 4.3 million Bales of cotton. It became the world’s leading cotton port. The city eventually transitioned into a picturesque ocean resort (Lessoff). From destruction, creation can come.
Isaac’s Storm, by Erik Larson was a very fascinating book because it is difficult to say absolutely what the true subject of the book is. There are three key players in the book, first it is Isaac Cline a meteorologist for the U.S Weather Bureau, The U.S. Weather Bureau itself, and finally the storm of 1900. However, all three elements collaborate with one another in a significant way. The storm of 1900 is the main catalyst for one of the most devastating storms in the United States. However, the Weather Bureau and Isaac Cline both had an impact on the outcome of the catastrophic storm. The book generally focuses on the Galveston Hurricane of 1990, but more so the actions that Isaac Cline takes, or didn’t take rather. It was very tricky to
So in the mix of them fighting there two powers water and wind. They created a hurricane and that was the strongest hurricane ever made. With the hurricane there it completely destroyed
On Friday evening, September 7, 1900, many of the 37,000 residents of Galveston, Texas, were settling down to dinner, few if any of them concerned about the steady 15 mph northerly wind rattling their windows. Within 48 hours, at least 8,000 of the townspeople would be dead, victims of the single worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Relatively few people are aware that the deadliest natural disaster in the United States was the hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900. One of the best resources that can be found to help fully understand the significance of this storm is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson.
A common person’s knowledge about sea disasters comes from what they have read in books and articles, and what they see on TV and in movies. The average person does not get to experience the fury of a hurricane while on a boat. In order to capture the audience’s attention, consideration to details and vivid descriptions are needed to paint a realistic picture in their minds. For this reason, the stories have to provide all of the intricate details. In The Perfect Storm, the story starts out with a radio call, not a dramatic scene that immediately foreshadows the possibility of danger. Rather than describing the storm and its fury, the only mention of the setting is of the visibility and the height of waves. However, in “The Wreck of the Hesperus”, the poem begins by stating there is a hurricane possible right away. The current weather conditions are pointed out to the reader as shown in the following quote.
Hurricanes are formed over tropical waters. These intense storms consist of winds over 74 miles per hour (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011). The storms addressed here are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This paper will explore the contrasts and comparisons between these two horrific storms.
Nearly 45 years ago one of the most powerful and damaging weather phenomenon’s ever to be recorded slammed into the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, a storm that effected people far and wide. Camille formed on August 14th just west of the Cayman Islands and rapidly intensified overnight becoming a category 3 hurricane approaching the island of Cuba. The storm trekked north-northwestward across the Gulf and became a stage 5 hurricane and maintained its strength before making landfall on the Mississippi Coast on the eve of August 17th. The devastating aftermath in the weeks to follow induced by the winds, surges, and rainfall took the lives of 256 people, and caused an estimated damage of 1.421 billion dollars.
On August 27, 1965, a weather satellite detected a weak tropical disturbance, which was named Betsy, near the Barbados. However, by August 29th the “disturbance” had grown into a hurricane. Betsy not only became one of the most dangerous, but also one of the most expensive storms in the history of the United States. In fact, Time Magazine has rated Hurricane Betsy number 11 in its “Most Destructive U.S. Hurricanes of All Time.” Moreover, this famous hurricane gained the nickname “Billion Dollar Betsy” because it was the first tropical storm to have caused more than $1 billion dollars in damage.
Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.
Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.
Hurricanes are born over the warm waters of tropical oceans and are formed by a low-pressure system caused by the heating of water. The heat causes the air to rise and form lower pressures in a feedback loop, making the hurricane stronger. Heavy rain results from a condensation of water and strong winds develop from warm air rushing to the eye of the hurricane. Essentially, greater storms and winds occur when the hurricane feeds of the rising temperature of the water. In addition, researchers studied disturbances and intense thunderstorms in the atmosphere over Western Africa and believe they are partly to blame for extreme hurricanes affecting the United States and Canada. While these are all the main ingredients of a perfectly natural process, they were not the primary causes of the damage done by Hurricane
For nearly ten years, Miami has not seen hurricane landfall. This fact may be troubling to those who are inclined to believe, whether through superstition or scientific knowledge, that one is bound to occur anytime now It may be pleasing news for those who have not had to suffer the destruction of these weather-beasts in ten years. Nostalgia, however, is my overwhelming reaction to the topic of hurricanes. I am taken back to candle-lit evenings tinged a mixture two parts electric fear one part mystic coziness.
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
When someone thinks of a hurricane, it is not often that fruit is the first thing that comes to their mind. In “Problems with Hurricanes,” Victor Hernandez Cruz brings mangoes and bananas to center stage in the midst of a hurricane. The poem, as told through the eyes of a “campesino” (a native of a Latin-American rural area), gives the fruit a dangerous, deadly part in contributing to casualties during a hurricane (Webster’s 178). The campesino believes that death by produce is a dishonorable way to die and points out that people need to be aware of the things that may be happening around them because there is a possibility that they don’t appear as all that they are. Throughout “Problems with Hurricanes,” Cruz reveals that the most beautiful sweet things can be the most dangerous.
Picture this, you laying on top of you car as you are being violently slung down your street, which was once dry and calm and is now wet and foreign, at an extremely rapid pace. You can’t find your family and all you can do is hope that they haven’t drowned and are able to stay afloat against the violent waters that are angrily attempting to destroy everything in its path. You look around the weather is gray and it’s raining heavily. It is a struggle to breathe between the rapid rain and the violent waters which are attempting to pull you under, forever. Your house no longer exists it is broken down from the pounding waters and fast winds. That is exactly what it would be like if you were in the midst of a hurricane. After hurricanes are over the confusion is crazy, children who had loving families are now orphaned, people become homeless, and people miss certain joys such as walking due to becoming paralyzed.
A hurricane is a type of natural disaster that can be harmful and destructive to anything in its way. Every year five to six hurricanes are formed, damaging and destroying people’s homes, landmarks, and anything in its path (“Hurricane”). Before a hurricane is developed it is known as a tropical storm. To be a tropical storm wind speed must be at least thirty eight miles per hour (“Hurricane”). Once wind speeds reaches seventy four miles an hour it can then be classified as hurricane (“Hurricane”). Large scale storms, like hurricanes have a variety of ways to measure the sev...