Sabrina Perales

4 Pages 1107 Words

The Deadliest Storm

On September 8, 1900, many resident’s and tourists’ lives changed due to the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The numbers of deaths on this day are estimated to be over 6,000 (1900). Many of these deaths could have been prevented by evacuating to higher leveled ground. So who is to blame? Some say that the Weather Service did not do enough to prevent these deaths or that the newspapers did not push the need for urgency one there was a storm watch; but on the other hand, if they had issued a warning early enough to evacuate would the people have done so? All of the parties were at fault due to their lack of judgment.
The United States Weather Service was formed by the government in 1882. The intentions of this Service were to collect data and conduct forecasts for storms. There were only a few elite that were chosen to conduct forecasts and these men were assigned in Washington. Forecasting was considered “a black and dangerous art” and incorrect forecasts could erode the faith of the public (Larson 55). So people whom worked for the Weather Service, like Isaac Cline, were not properly trained on how to determine if impeding danger was near. This was one of the government’s biggest faults.
The forecasts that were sent out from the Weather Service did not show any urgency to evacuate or take precautions. There were also incorrect forecasts from the Service, such as the one that the hurricane moved from Key West to Tampa, gave people a false sense of security. Later forecasts talked about an “off spur” storm with moderate energy moving northwest (Larson 127). It was on September 7th that Isaac Cline was instructed to raise the warning flag (Bixel, 18). By this time it was too late for and evacuation of any sort. So many residents and tourists of the Galveston area stayed in their homes.
Another fault of he Weather Service resulted from their prejudic...