Isaac’s Storm written by Erik Larson tells the story of the deadliest hurricane to strike the United States. On September 8th of 1900, a large hurricane struck Galveston, Texas to the surprise of many. Galveston, Texas, also known as the “Western Ellis Island” because it was the second most traveled entry for immigrants coming to the United States, Galveston was also the United State’s largest cotton port during time. Therefore Galveston was an established, growing city where the newly created U.S. Weather Bureau decided to place a meteorologist by the name of Isaac Cline. During this time period, the United States was a quickly growing country where science was becoming an important business. The newly established Weather Bureau was using the latest technology and instruments to measure weather patterns. This gave scientists and meteorologists of the time a sense of power where they believed they had conquered Mother Nature and fully understood the forces of weather. This arrogance and inflated egos of the Weather Bureau members created a system of mistrust and competition between meteorologists. This lead to information being withheld and storms being “under-reported”, Willis Moore, the Chief Meteorologist of the U.S. Weather Bureau, encouraged this type of competition between his meteorologists as he strived to create a weather bureau of disciplined members. During the 1900’s, the United States Weather Bureau was in competition against a newly forming Cuban Weather Bureau for forecasting weather in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. This competition between weather bureaus and between members of the same bureau would add to the devastating consequences of the Galveston hurricane.
The hurricane was born off the hot air of Africa’s western coast, as it moved across the Atlantic Ocean and the hurricane was fueled off the heat of the warm summer waters. Using this heat energy the storm grew to an immense size as it headed for the United States. The competition between weather bureaus lead to a system of “under-reporting” storms in order to avoid creating unnecessary panic. Weather bureau members were even told to avoid using the word “hurricane” unless they were absolutely, 100% sure, that it was indeed a hurricane they were experiencing. When the storm struck Cuba on its path towards the United States, meteorologists reported to the head U.S. Weather Bureau office located in Washington, that the storm hitting Cuba was nothing more than a tropical storm and that it would be heading Florida’s coast.
In earlier discussions about Galveston’s susceptibility to hurricanes, Isaac Cline stated that he believed a hurricane would never strike Galveston, Texas. Isaac Cline even voted against the creation of a seawall to protect Galveston, believing it would be an un-needed expense. As the storm approached Galveston, Isaac began to notice changes in his weather instruments, which lead him to believe a large storm was on its way. Isaac decided to warn the citizens of Galveston and told them to stay away from the beach and remain indoors. When the hurricane finally reached Galveston on September 8th, the city was greatly unprepared for its immense power. The building materials of the era were sub-par to compete against hurricane force winds. The hurricane completely destroyed Galveston; Isaac lost his wife to the storms rage. After the storm had cleared, survivors began to pick through the debris in search of loved ones and belongings. Isaac estimated the heat was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which created an intense stench of death due to mangled human and animal bodies spread throughout the city. The list of dead became so extensive, that some people were reported dead even though they were still alive, which lead to the creation of a “Not Dead” list in order to correct the mishap of people being incorrectly reported as dead. The vast amount of dead was too much work for each individual to receive their own grave, therefore the burial committee decided to have 50 black men clean up and dispose of the dead bodies. The 50 black men were rounded up by soldiers, their task was to pick through the debris, find dead bodies and carry those bodies to a barge. Once the barge was filled with 700 corpses, it sailed 18 miles into the Gulf to dump the bodies, anything and everything was tied to the bodies in order to weight them down and prevent them from floating back to the surface. However, this plan backfired as corpses and body parts began washing up on Galveston’s shore. The burial committee then decided the best idea to dispose of the dead would be through mass burnings of the bodies, this added to the stench of Galveston and many people reported being sick due to the smell of burning flesh and hair. Due to the fact that Galveston was immigrant entry to the United States and that many of the people working in Galveston weren’t U.S. citizens, an exact census number was unattainable, therefore the amount of people alive after the storm was hard to compare to the exact number of people living in Galveston before the hurricane hit. The estimation is that between 8,000-10,000 people lost their lives to the Galveston Hurricane.
Isaac’s Storm begins with background information about Isaac’s life, family, and the city of Galveston. Erik Larson then discusses the competition and arrogance of the newly formed U.S. Weather Bureau. Larson also goes into detail about how a hurricane weather system develops and discusses the creation of the Galveston Hurricane. Erik Larson uses letters, telegrams, reports, and eye-witness accounts from survivors to build a story around the Galveston Hurricane. Isaac’s Storm begins as a slow read while Larson develops the characters and background information leading up the storm but the book quickly becomes exciting as the impending storm approaches Galveston. I believe Erik Larson does a good job of creating a story that closely mimics the events that actually occurred leading up to, during, and after the hurricane. Erik Larson develops Isaac as a character who is respected and liked within his community, however, I wonder if Isaac was really a good weatherman or if he was just another arrogant member of the U.S. Weather Bureau. I have some feelings that Isaac Cline wasn’t placed in such a positive light by members of the Galveston community, especially after the hurricane hit. Overall I enjoyed the book and believe that anyone who has interest in hurricanes or extreme weather events should read Isaac’s Storm. The author uses great detail to develop the setting of Galveston during this time period and therefore allows the reader to visualize the events of the Galveston Hurricane as they unfold. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars; I believe the book could have been improved if the author provided photographs of Galveston before and after the hurricane. I looked at some pictures of the Galveston Hurricane online and was surprised by what I saw. The photographs give meaning to the intensity of the hurricane and the wreckage it left in its path. I attached some of the photographs to my “interesting images” page.
