NATURAL DISASTERS NATURAL DISASTERS IN EARLY 20IN EARLY 20THTH

CENTURYCENTURYAMERICAAMERICA

NATURAL DISASTERS NATURAL DISASTERS IN EARLY 20IN EARLY 20THTH

CENTURYCENTURYAMERICAAMERICA

By Jamie A. and Laura H.By Jamie A. and Laura H.

Horace GreeleyHorace Greeley Chappaqua, Chappaqua, NYNY

What role did What role did government agencies government agencies

play in dealing with the play in dealing with the natural disasters of the natural disasters of the

early 20early 20thth century? century?

The Great The Great Galveston Galveston

Hurricane of 1900Hurricane of 1900

The worst natural disaster in US history

The Great Galveston, TexasThe Great Galveston, Texas

The New York of the GulfWall Street of the Southwest

A booming town Population 36,000 and an annual population increase of 3%Texas’ first post office, telephones, and medical collegeA main southern port

A Storm A Storm SurgesSurges

Weather BureauWeather BureauBy the end of the 1800’s Cuba was known as the best weather forecasters in the world.The Spanish American War broke out in 1898 creating a tension between the American weather bureau and the Cuban Bureau.Feelings of animosity towards Cuba began thus causing the American Weather Bureau to ignore Cuban reports.

US Weather Bureau and US Weather Bureau and CubaCuba

Based in Washington DC and headed by Willis MooreRegarded Cubans as informants as inferior and alarmists

o Moore instituted a ban on all transmission of West Indian Storm Reports from Bureaus in Havana to New Orleans

o Wrote the Western Union on August 28th to enforce a cable ban.

Reasons for Shunning Reasons for Shunning CubaCuba

Bad Weather would Harm the economy.

American superiority and professionalism.

An attitude that data collected by a government agency is owned by that government/ agency and shouldn’t be shared.

Different weather predictions.

A storm is growingA storm is growingFormed off the cost of Africa (Cape Verde) on August 27th

Moved towards the southern cost of the US and hit the Florida Keys and Cuba. Storm started to curve north...but quickly changed its pathThe Cuban Weather Bureau predicted that the storm would revert back on its path towards the Gulf of Mexico while the US weather Bureau stated it would continue moving north and then they issued a storm warning

in New Jersey

Isaac ClineIsaac Cline

Isaac Cline was the U.S. Weather Bureau climatologist in Galveston. Was well respected and very trusted although his conclusions about storms were extremely inaccurate

o “West Indies hurricanes are not a problem for Texas because they always recurve to the north before reaching the Western Gulf of Mexico.”

o “Shallow water offshore from Galveston will protect the island from hurricane waves.”

o “Buildings can be constructed to survive a hurricane”

Isaac and the StormIsaac and the Storm

Signs of a storm on

o Waves pounded the shores

o Barometric pressure dropped rapidly

o Fish-scale clouds moved inland (sign of rain)

Confusion about the stormo Ambiguous telegraphs from

the D.C. headquarters o D.C. never issued a

hurricane warning o Some signs of a hurricane

were missing leading to further confusion

A Hurricane A Hurricane Comes to Comes to ConquerConquer

Initial Reaction to the Initial Reaction to the StormStorm

People were not expecting any type of hurricane and thus fourth took no measures to protect themselves. People went about their normal business in the rain and played in the water that was flooding their city.When the train tracks flooded people waded in the water so that they wouldn’t miss their lunch appointments and business meetings.

The Strom CameThe Strom Came

Winds that reached 150mph and strongerTidal surge from 15 to 20 feetBy 3 pm the entire island was submerged and by 12 midnight, 15 foot waves destroyed buildings

The The OrphanagOrphanag

ee

On the beach of the island of Galveston was an orphanage of 10 nuns and 93 children.To calm the children the nuns had them sing “Queen of the Waves”Click here to hear

Queen of the WavesThe nuns tied themselves to six to eight children using clothesline rope, in order to keep them all together.

The OrphanageThe Orphanage

The dormitory building was lifted from its foundation and the roof collapsed, trapping everyone inside.The only survivors were three 13 year old boys. video of orphanage

Seeking SafetySeeking Safety

Hundreds fled to the Tremont hotel which sheltered thousands from the storm.

Wreckage of the Tremont Hotel

50 People fled to Isaac Clines house which lay 2 feet above the highest flooding point ever recorded.

o His house eventually collapsed between 7 and 8 pm. Only 18 people from the house survived.

The Island Stands AloneThe Island Stands Alone

Telegraph lines went down after 3:30 pm

o Took days for word of the storm to get out

Trains were washed off the trackso Water flooded the tracks in the downtown

terminal

A steamship broke free of its moorings and destroyed 3 bridges to the mainland

A City in A City in ShamblesShambles

Aftermath of the StormAftermath of the StormDeath Toll: Between 8,000- 12,000 people

o Orphanage deaths: All 10 nuns and 90 children

3,600 homes destroyed

$700 million of today's dollars lost from the wreckage of commercial structures

Rebuilding a CityRebuilding a City

Confronting the DisasterConfronting the Disaster

People awoke to a city covered in debris

A view of 27th street and Avenue M

Confronting the DisasterConfronting the Disaster

Dead bodies lay buried around the city. Workers attempted to pull them out and identify them. They were eventually cremated where ever their bodies were found

Videos post HurricaneVideos post Hurricane

Survivors search for bodies

Destroyed Waterfront

Docks after the storm

Help! We need Somebody!Help! We need Somebody!

Effecting Business Around the World

The Red The Red CrossCross

Under the leadership of Clara Barton the Red Cross went to help GalvestonThe Red Cross established an orphanage for storm victims and helped collect lumber to rebuild houses. The organization raised money by selling photographs of the storm devastation.

Clara Barton

Pulling TogetherPulling Together

Sept. 9th Mayor Walter C. Jones called an emergency council meeting and formed the Central Relief CommitteeThe Galveston Daily News continues publishing and never missed an issueTelegraph and water service were restoredLines for a new telephone system were laidAfter 3 weeks saloons reopened, electric trolleys operated and freight began to move through the harbors.

Fixing a Broken City: Putting Fixing a Broken City: Putting up a Seawallup a Seawall

A seawall was built from 6th street to 39th street in order to protect the city from future

hurricanes

Fixing a Broken City: Raising Fixing a Broken City: Raising the Elevationthe Elevation

Alfred Novel, Henry M. Robert and H.C. Ripley had the ingenious idea to raise the city to the height of the seawall.

o The city was elevated 17 feeto 2,156 houses had to be raised to

accommodate the heightened elevation.o Streets, sidewalks, sewer lines, ad entire

infrastructures had to be raised.

16 million cubic yards of sand were imported onto the islandThe sand was dredged from Galveston’s own ship channel and pumped into quarter-square-mile sections of the city

Fixing a Broken City: Raising Fixing a Broken City: Raising the Elevationthe Elevation

Galveston could recover the living conditions on the island but never regained its status

The Great San Francisco The Great San Francisco Earthquake & FireEarthquake & Fire

of 1906 of 1906

An unparalleled disaster in the history of San Francisco

Those who dwell in the city of San Francisco Those who dwell in the city of San Francisco and in the whole area affected by the great and in the whole area affected by the great

earthquake felt from the first that they were earthquake felt from the first that they were living though an historic epoch and that the living though an historic epoch and that the eyes of the world were fixed upon them. As eyes of the world were fixed upon them. As the great fire spread, even those who lost the great fire spread, even those who lost their homes and saw the city of their love their homes and saw the city of their love

being consumed by flames, realized that they being consumed by flames, realized that they were in the presence of one of the most were in the presence of one of the most

tremendous conflagrations ever known and tremendous conflagrations ever known and felt in the very magnitude of the disaster the felt in the very magnitude of the disaster the

realization of the fact that its magnitude realization of the fact that its magnitude gave it a permanent place in history. gave it a permanent place in history.

- - How the History of the Disaster is Being MadeHow the History of the Disaster is Being Made, , Henry Morse Stephens Henry Morse Stephens

The Gateway to the PacificThe Gateway to the Pacific

At the time of the disaster, San Francisco had been the 9th largest city in the U.S. & the largest city on the west coastFrom the 1840’s up until the disaster, the city had become the financial, trade, and cultural center of the West It operated the busiest port on the west coast and was known as “the gateway to the Pacific,” through which the growing US economy and military power was projected into the Pacific and Asia

San Francisco was rudely awakened at 5:13 a.m. by a great earthquake Hundreds, perhaps thousands of trapped persons died when South-of-Market tenements collapsed as the ground liquefied beneath themMost of the collapsed buildings immediately caught fire and trapped victims could rarely be rescued in timeThe situation was then made worse by the Great Fire that burned for 4 days straight

April 18, 1906April 18, 1906

The effect of the earthquake was felt from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Los Angeles, and as far east as central Nevada The earthquake shock therefore consisted of an area of 375,000 square milesThe extreme destruction consisted of an area of 400 miles, from the southern part of Fresno County to Eureka The main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward, for a total length of 296 miles

The ShockThe Shock

San Andreas San Andreas FaultFault

A geological fault that runs through western and southern California - It’s roughly 800 miles long - After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake it was discovered that this fault stretched well southward into Southern California

The AftershockThe AftershockFor the 10 days following April 18th it was impossible for anyone to purchase supplies

Most of the warehouses containing food supplies were lost in the fire

The warehouses that were saved were seized by civil authorities to feed the hungry population

The financial district was in mass ruins. There was no money and rich and poor alike were compelled to stand in the bread linesAfter the disaster there was a period of several days where inclement weather added much to the suffering of allIn the burnt district the streets were impassible

One of the most important duties was the clearing of the streets to facilitate transportation

The Total EffectsThe Total Effects

More than 4.7 square miles of San Francisco burned and crumbled “into a windswept desert of desolation” known as the “burned district”225-300 thousand people (out of San Francisco’s 450,000) were left homeless by the disaster After the disasterMore than 3,000 deaths were caused directly or indirectly by the catastrophe28,188 buildings were destroyedMonetary loss: more than $400,000,000 in 1906 dollars (around 6.5 billion dollars today)

$80,000,000 from the earthquake $320,000,000 from the fires

Mayor E.E. Schmitz Mayor E.E. Schmitz issues a A proclamation:issues a A proclamation:

April 18April 18Schmitz orders gas & electric lighting companies to turn off gas & electricityTells the citizens to “expect the city to remain in darkness for an indefinite time”Orders police force, “special police officers”, and federal troops to kill all people involved in crime or “looting”Orders citizens to stay at home everyday from sunset to sunrise, until “order is restored”Orders citizens to stay at home everyday from sunset to sunrise, until “order is restored”

Downplaying the DamageDownplaying the Damage

There were over 3,000 deaths, the U.S. Army relief operations recorded only 498 deaths in San Francisco, 64 deaths in Santa Rosa, & 102 deaths in/near San Jose At the time the average number of deaths reported to the public was 375

This figure was concocted by government officials/ political and business leaders who felt that reporting the true death toll would hurt real estate prices, the effort to rebuild the San Francisco, & outside investment in the city

Also, hundreds of deaths in Chinatown went ignored and unrecorded due to racism at the time

Due to the almost universal practice of insurers to protect San Francisco properties from fire and not earthquake damage, most damage through the city was blamed on the fires

The Subsequent FiresThe Subsequent Fires

Though the earthquake was strong, the fires that burned afterwards were much more destructive to the cityFires broke out all through the city. Many were fueled by natural gas mains that were broken by the quake Many other fires were the result of arson and campfires set by refugees Several fires in the downtown merged to become one giant “inferno”The fires lasted for 4 days and 4 nights, & ultimately destroyed over 500 city blocks

View from Laguna and Market streets of the Great Fire burning through the Mission District

The Army’s Role in the AftermathThe Army’s Role in the Aftermath

During the first few days the soldiers provided valuable services patrolling streets to discourage looting The army helped to guard buildings such as the U.S. Mint, post office, & county jailThey aided the fire department in dynamiting to demolish buildings in the path of the fire

Fifth Street entrance to the U.S. Mint after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The area around the

building became a refugee village

Help of the ArmyHelp of the Army

The U.S.S. Preble from Mare Island set up multiple hospital shore parties to help the wounded and dying who sought help at Harbor Emergency Hospital16 enlisted men and 2 officers from the USS Chicago supervised the rescue of 20,000 refugees fleeing the Great Fire Panic was prevented in San Francisco by the co-operation of the military & civil authorities, aided by unselfish citizens, who sacrificed their own property for the general good

Without the army there would have been much chaos and anarchy

The Role of the U.S. Army The Role of the U.S. Army Medical DepartmentMedical Department

After the earthquake and fire the most admirable sanitary and emergency work was done by the officers and men of the medical department under Colonel G.H. TorneyGeneral Funston placed Colonel Torney as the head of the sanitation department and said all of his orders must be strictly followed

This gave the Medical Department unrestricted power and enabled them to act promptly & effectively in meeting the emergency problems of sanitation

The Relocation & Housing The Relocation & Housing of the Displacedof the Displaced

The U.S. Army became responsible for feeding, sheltering, and clothing the tens of thousands of displaced residents of the city The Army built 5,610 redwood and fir “relief houses” to accommodate the 20,000 displaced peopleThe temporary homes were divided into 11 camps packed close together. The camps had a peak population of 16, 448 people, but by 1907 most had moved out

Many refugees built shanties from any available materials to house themselves after the disaster. This encampment

is near the Marina. The Army later provided tents for refugees

Presidio of San Francisco Relief Camp:One of several large relief camps established by the

U.S. Army at the Presidio of San Francisco

View of the U.S. Post Office substation at the Hamilton Square Refugee Camp

Monetary assistanceMonetary assistanceDuring the first few days after the news of the disaster had reached the rest of the world, relief efforts had reached over $5,000,000 England raised hundreds of thousands of dollars The U.S. government immediately gave one million in supplies which were rushed to the city Individual citizens & businesses donated large sums of money to the relief effort

Standard Oil: $100,000 Andrew Carnegie: $100,000 The Dominion of Canada: $100,000 The Bank of Canada: $25,000

The Citizens’ Committee of FiftyThe Citizens’ Committee of FiftyOn the morning of the earthquake Mayor Schmitz hurriedly appointed The Citizens Committee of Fifty, 50 representative citizens of San Francisco

On this morning the Committee met with Mayor Schmitz, the Chief of Police, and the U.S. military authorities

Under orders of civil authorities, the Committee of Fifty and its sub committees were authorized to purchase, seize or confiscate food and clothingThis committee later functioned as the Earthquake History Committee, financed by the Red Cross and Relief Corporation

The Value of the The Value of the Southern Pacific EvacuationSouthern Pacific Evacuation

The Southern Pacific evacuation accounts for 50% of the population evacuated by railBy August 1906 Southern Pacific had evacuated a total of 300 thousand, (out of a population of around 400,000) which may be one of the largest evacuations in historyThe value of the transportation issued free by the Southern Pacific at San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sacramento & Vallejo is hard to estimate but without a doubt exceeded $400,000

Outside HelpOutside Help

Philadelphia sent multiple military trains to California with over 100 men in each train with officerChicago sent hundreds of medical specialists (consisting of nurses and doctors) for relief camps The California Northwestern established a ferry service between Sausalito, touching Tiburon and going directly to Oakland pier

Evacuation of San Francisco By Evacuation of San Francisco By SeaSea

By Alexander CoulterBy Alexander Coulter

Reconstruction of Reconstruction of San FranciscoSan Francisco

In a rush to rebuild to the city, building standards lowered by as much as 50%People in San Francisco were in a rush to rebuild because of the desire to be ready for an international exposition set to be hosted in 1915Indeed, by 1915 the city was practically completely rebuilt and the damage was barely visible Therefore reconstruction was completed in time for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which celebrated the reconstruction of the city and its “rise from the ashes”

The Result of the Disaster on The Result of the Disaster on San FranciscoSan Francisco

Even though San Francisco rebuilt quickly, the disaster diverted trade, industry and population growth south to Los AngelesAs a result, during the 20th century Los Angeles became the largest and most important urban area in the WestAlso, because of the catastrophe many of the cities leading poets and writers left to “Carmel-by-the-Sea” where they established an arts colony reputation as “The Bohemians”

Differences Between the Differences Between the DisastersDisasters

San Francisco regained its status as a major city while Galveston was never able to regain its status as one of the major cities of the south.

In Galveston government agencies are noted for their role in the destruction of Galveston while in San Francisco government agencies helped piece the city back together again.

Similarities Between the Similarities Between the DisastersDisasters

The main priority after making sure the people were okay was to rebuild the city in a way that a disaster like this would not have the same detrimental effect as it did the 1st time.

In both situations the people were unprepared and unaware of the natural disasters that were soon to come.

The End