Lack of Preparedness and the Hubris of Men

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After reading A.J.’s post, I think he correctly identifies preparedness as being one of the most important issues regarding this disaster. Like the Johnstown Flood, the Galveston Hurricane seemed to have caught its victims by surprise. Due to the shoddy forecasting ability of meteorologists in this period, the citizens of Galveston were shocked by the storm’s devastation. Similar to the citizens of Johnstown, the Galveston residents mistakenly diagnosed the flooding as a normal occurrence. The stories of children playing in the floodwaters and the general feeling of a business as usual atmosphere are similar in both disasters.

The notion of preparedness will probably be a topic that we discuss extensively in class tomorrow. Clearly, Galveston was not prepared for the hurricane in 1900. One of the most obvious reasons is the lack of viable information about the impending storm. According to the experts, this storm was supposed to move north rather than northeast towards Texas. Only later would they acknowledge that the storm was headed towards Texas, but still insisted that the storm would not be much to worry about. The lack of information coupled with what Larson calls, “the hubris of men” made this massive storm even more deadly.

Larson’s notion of “the hubris of men” is an important idea to analyze. Similar to other disasters that we have studied in class, the Galveston Hurricane featured men that believed they had conquered nature and were summarily reminded that they had not. Disregard for the power of nature seems to be a reoccurring theme during this period. The Galveston Hurricane served as a wake up call of sorts for these men. After the hurricane a seawall was built and engineers raised the height of the city with jacks. The Galveston Hurricane made it clear that man had not conquered nature.

Finally, I want to comment on why Isaac Cline is given possession of this storm by Larson. It seems ambiguous while reading Isaac’s Storm as to whether Isaac is being blamed for the storm or is being defended. Larson points out that Cline may have saved thousands of lives by warning residents of houses near the gulf that a storm was coming. Conversely, Larson details how Cline ignored the signs the storm presented and chose to minimize its severity. Rather than condemning or praising Isaac Cline, Larson seems to want,” to explore the lives of history’s little men.”  The phrase “history’s little men” would obviously hurt the feelings of the far-from modest Isaac Cline, but helps readers to understand why Larson chose to frame the Galveston Hurricane around Isaac Cline.