Galveston vs. Katrina
Hurricane Galveston and Hurricane Katrina were both devastating hurricanes that cause death and destruction and impacted many lives of American citizens. While each hurricane was similar in many ways, Hurricane Galveston and Hurricane Katrina also differed in many ways. Government was more evolved when Katrina hit New Orleans with better technology and equipment. Although Hurricane Katrina is more well known than Hurricane Galveston, it is important that people learn how shocking and painful both hurricanes were.
Hurricane Galveston occurred in Galveston, Texas while Hurricane Katrina occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both cities are in the southern part of the United States are are approximately 381.75 miles away from one another.
Today, the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center monitors hurricanes and tropical storms. We had learned from Hurricane Katrina that weather information is still not in our control even with advanced technology, but we still continue to find out about storms ahead of time and help American citizens prepare in time for the possibility of a bad storm.
Today, the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center monitors hurricanes and tropical storms. We had learned from Hurricane Katrina that weather information is still not in our control even with advanced technology, but we still continue to find out about storms ahead of time and help American citizens prepare in time for the possibility of a bad storm.
Galveston
1900
The Deadliest natural disaster in USA history
135 mph winds
Not as Predicted
20 foot storm swept without warning across city
Between 6,000-12,000 deaths
Damage more than $700 million
-Stronger storm
-Category four when it hit Galveston
-Government's attitude more arrogant
-U.S. Weather Service didn't even refer to storm as a "hurricane" or "tornado"
-Wanted to avoid panic and therefore officials let people down (didn't do as much as they could have because they didn't want people running around scared)
-Forecasters confident in primitive technology which did not include satellites or doppler radar
-Faded quickly from national news
135 mph winds
Not as Predicted
20 foot storm swept without warning across city
Between 6,000-12,000 deaths
Damage more than $700 million
-Stronger storm
-Category four when it hit Galveston
-Government's attitude more arrogant
-U.S. Weather Service didn't even refer to storm as a "hurricane" or "tornado"
-Wanted to avoid panic and therefore officials let people down (didn't do as much as they could have because they didn't want people running around scared)
-Forecasters confident in primitive technology which did not include satellites or doppler radar
-Faded quickly from national news
Katrina
2005
One of the five deadliest hurricanes in USA history
145 mph winds
Arrived predicted
Water flooded city in gradual fashion
At least 1,836 deaths
Damage of $81 billion
-Now we name storms in advance and spend days to prepare for the worst
-Went from a Category one storm, to four, to give, and then back to three again
-Levee system failed
-Reporters more familiar with New Orleans and therefore it stayed in national news for longer
-"Everyone, it seemed, had been to New Orleans, and everyone mourned its losses"
-People felt as if the government let them down because the government had gotten them to trust them and be dependent on them, but had ended up failing
-FEMA unsuccessful
145 mph winds
Arrived predicted
Water flooded city in gradual fashion
At least 1,836 deaths
Damage of $81 billion
-Now we name storms in advance and spend days to prepare for the worst
-Went from a Category one storm, to four, to give, and then back to three again
-Levee system failed
-Reporters more familiar with New Orleans and therefore it stayed in national news for longer
-"Everyone, it seemed, had been to New Orleans, and everyone mourned its losses"
-People felt as if the government let them down because the government had gotten them to trust them and be dependent on them, but had ended up failing
-FEMA unsuccessful
Deadliest United States Hurricanes
Changes for Next Time.
Galveston learned that there were many things they needed to improve on, due to the hurricane in 1900. They created a seawall to protect the city from major floods, they raised the elevation of the land by approximately 17 feet, and they created a water pumping station at the corner of 30th Street and Church. Eric Wilson, director of Municipal Infrastructure, said that "the way this place is designed, it can provide and meet water needs if we do have failure of all our other pump stations." Wilson strongly believed that if another storm were to come, the pumping station would be able to help and work faster to get the water back on quickly. This was important because water is very necessary for survival and if another great storm like the Hurricane of 1900 in Galveston occurred, this time the people would be supplied with a better quality and quantity of safe and healthy water. The island also continued improving by adding two new water towers going up the island.
Katrina changed how we look at natural disasters forever. No longer are we simply counting the deal toll, but as a nation we must analyze the procedures and effectiveness of evacuation and dealing with the displaced victims of Katrina. What caught the world's attention, along with the disturbing images of the dead, was the complete chaos and disorder that ensued. Katrina's storm lead to a many meetings and hearings about the faulty levee system. The Hurricane Protection Program of New Orleans has pressured government to install money and knowledge to the construction the new levee systems. Along with town hearings, committees, and investigations, there has been an 8/29 commission created to investigate the engineering of the levees as well as the issue of who could be put to blame of why the clearly incapable levees were allowed to stay there.
Click the links below to learn more about Hurricane Galveston and Hurricane Katrina, as well as how they connect and how the government effected each of them.
Galveston
Galveston Blogs
Katrina
Katrina Blogs
The Governments Involvement in the Hurricanes
The Comparing and Contrasting of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Galveston
