Case Studies in Natural and Man-Made Disasters 2

Hurricanes in United States

Name

MSE 6701, Case Studies in Natural and Man-Made Disasters 2

Institution

Date

Galveston Hurricane of 1900

This hurricane hit the city of Galveston, Texan on September 8, 1900 (Simpson, 2003). It was a category 4 storm, and it is widely considered to be the deadliest hurricane in U.S history. The storm claimed about 8,000 casualties and leveled the city of Texas. The main cause of the hurricane is unknown due to limited observation ability during the 19th Century. The storm was first sighted on august 27 east of the Windward Islands. By august 30, the storm had passed through the Leeward Islands. Antigua reported a severe storm three days later. By September 7, heavy damage was reported along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. The Galveston Weather Bureau office warned that a hurricane was likely to hit the town. On the afternoon of September 8, there was a steady northeast wind that had picked up, and the office was recording sustained hurricane winds (Simpson, 2003). The town was destroyed with its costs estimated at $99.4 billion.

Hurricane Andrew

This was a small but ferocious hurricane that affected northwest Bahamas, southern Florida and south-central Louisiana between august 16 and august 28, 1992 (Simpson, 2003). The damage of this storm was estimated to be $25 billion. The number of deaths a result of the hurricane was twenty six. However, additional loss of lives caused indirectly brought the death toll to sixty five.

Preparations

The Galveston Weather Bureau office received warnings from Washington office as early as September 4 that a tropical storm was looming as it had moved northward over Cuba. However, the Bureau office did not have any means of determining the position of the storm or its destination. The office could also not use the term hurricane to avoid panicking by the members of the public. The forecasters believed the storm would travel northeast to Florida and exit into the Atlantic. Thus, few people evacuated Galveston as many people were unconcerned by the rain clouds. Thus, the city was caught unprepared to deal with such a high disaster, resulting in the high number of deaths.

The main reason why the number of deaths after hurricane Andrew was low compared to Galveston hurricane was down to a good disaster management and preparedness (Simpson, 2003). Before the hurricane hit Bahamas, weather forecasters had predicted a storm. There were warnings to the residents to experience a hurricane. Hence, the early warnings were credited with the low number of casualties. In Florida, evacuations in about nine counties were ordered. In total, around 1.2 million people were evacuated, hence the low number of fatalities.

One of the best changes to natural disaster preparedness is the issuing of warning. The residents are warned to expect hurricane, not unlike in 1900 when the authorities feared causing panic; hence the failure to warn the people. In 1900, there were no evacuations for the predicted areas and the result was massive loss of lives. Therefore, evacuation from the affected