Tech5 Team

Galveston Hurricane of 1900

Cycle A

1. Discussion Questions & Preliminary Answers-

1. Should building permits be monitored and the windstorm certificate have stricter requirements to make sure that new construction can withstand hurricanes to prevent property destruction? New construction needs to be monitored and guidelines need to be made more strict, this will alleviate and reduced the aftermath destruction.

2. What measures should be taken to alleviate the flooding of the cities during a hurricane?  To alleviate flooding, draining facilities should be updated and upgraded, this in turn will prevent hurricane waters from accumulating on the ground and causing property damage and human and animal deaths.  

3. What other measures could be taken to prevent the loss of marine life?  One good way to prevent loss of marine life and habitat is build levees as needed on the coasts, this will maintain the sea waters in place thus keeping from the high tides originated by hurricanes from getting dragged into the mainland.

4. Galveston's wealthy island was destroyed when the hurricane hit landfall, what was the estimated number of destruction? History shows that Galveston's population in the 1900 was close to 38,000; however, the number of dead and injured caused that number to diminish due to the destruction of this horror hurricane. The once upon a time wealthy Galveston Island recorded well over 3,600 buildings wiped out from the county. As for the residences, many were left homeless an estimated 30,000+. One major concern was the destruction of the telegraph lines which destroyed communication and bridges were washed away.

5. The residence of Galveston had very little warning of such tropical storm lurking, what was the main reason of such lack of warning? It is believed that what caused this monstrous hurricane was a tropical wave that moved off the western coast of Africa. Records show that on August 30th the tropical depression storm passed through Leeward Island. Although technology in the 1900s was not as sophisticated as today, predicting storm's origins was very limited and sometimes unclear.

Problem Statement:

These areas of concern are simply a few our group discussed and felt needed to be addressed. Galveston was once a wealthy city along the coast of Texas in 1900 according to the History Channel and Online Encyclopedia. Due to the lack of city requirements for architects and contractors to develop structures that were Windstorm Ready, the Hurricane of 1900 devastated the city. A proper drainage system would have helped redirect the water flow and alleviate flooding in low lying areas. Constructing a levee along the coastline would have helped maintain the sea waters and prevented high tides from invading the mainland. We understand the lack of innovation development as well as city/state building requirements, but perhaps more could have been done in preventing this horrible disaster.