preparedness – American Disasters

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At the turn of the century (1900), a detrimental hurricane hit Galveston, Texas. Galveston was experiencing a period of substantial growth and success, after hurricane hit, the city was devastated.

As we discussed in class last week about the effectiveness of a narrative history story, Isaac’s Storm can be categorized as such because the book its self is neither history or science but a combination of the two. Most of the book is an account given by Cline himself, as well as descriptions by survivors of the hurricane. The impact that not putting citations within in the text but at the end is effective because it keeps the flow of the novel. This novel allows the reader to envision what it would be like to live through a category 5 hurricane, Larson is able to show the reader the trust that the public placed in upper level officials, and weather technology and how we still do this today. After reading this novel it made me realize the truth how reliant I am on technology. At night I will check weather.com to see what the upcoming forecast looks like and plan accordingly. I know that I am one of millions who rely on today’s technology, be it on the phone or the computer. The irony of this, for example, in New York the amount of times the “weathermen” have predicted a snowstorm that will produce ten inches of snow, however, the next morning when you get up it has only snowed a few inches and the sun is shining (even though the night before people were in hysterics). But every time it seems to go the same. However, as my waryness of techonolgy holds the is the old saying, “better safe then sorry”.

This very idea goes along with what people could have been feeling in Gaveston, Texas. Peoples trust or distrust with the idea of a meteorologist has ultimately impacted their lives. Ignorance is something that caused hundreds and maybe even thousands their lives. The idea of religion and how it effected the preparedness and thoughts of people during this period. Similar to the mention in AJ’s post that meteorology as a science was still seen as controversial, most people still believed that the weather was God’s own will and therefore should not be forecasted. So how does one prepare for what they deem to be enviable?

Similar to the other posts and addressing the central question of how the Galveston hurricane shaped American ideas about disaster preparedness, I found that while reading this novel what came to mind was a quote originally said by John Wooden, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. This quote can be applied to most of the disasters we have studied thus far. It holds true in the essence that because of the lack of preparation whether in Galveston, Texas or Chicago, for a large scale natural disaster can cost the lives of many and the overall destruction of a city’s infrastructure.

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.

Tag: preparedness

Blame it on the Weatherman

Lack of Preparedness and the Hubris of Men