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16 17 BY LORIE STEINER O ne hundred and seventeen years ago, a killer September cyclone came to life in the Atlantic (blazing the same path Hurricane Irma recently tracked through the vulnerable Caribbean islands) and slammed head-on into Galveston,Texas. Upwards of 6,000 people died in Galveston alone, and the city was left in ruins.Through hand-written accounts and other historic documents preserved in museums, digitized on-line, and handed down through generations,we can ‘feel’ the storm through the eyes and hearts of survivors. Many parallels can be drawn between the Gal- veston horror and what people in the Caribbean are experiencing during the unrelenting 2017 hurricane season.Most importantly,what we can bring forward from the past is that this resilient Gulf coast city didn’t disappear forever. It was rebuilt and thrives to this day.As the Galveston Tribune put it: “Galveston was not born to die.” Here are some details and poignant recollections: The United States Weather Bureau at Galveston HURRICANE IRMA / HURRICANE MARIA THE GREAT GALVESTON STORM OF 1900 – DEADLY DÉJÀ VU made the following report, September 14, 1900. Six days after the storm: “The local office of the United States weather bureau received the first message in regard to this storm at 4 pm, September 4. It was then moving northward over Cuba. Each day thereafter until the West India hurricane struck Galveston bulletins were posted by the United States weather bureau officials giving the progressive movements of the disturbance. “September 6 the tropical storm had moved up over southern Florida, thence it changed its course and moved westward in the gulf and was central off the Louisiana coast the morning of the 7th,when northwest stormwarnings were ordered up for Galveston.The morning of the 8th the storm had increased in energy and was still moving westward, and at 10:10 a.m. the northwest stormwarnings were changed to northeast.Then was when the entire island was in apparent danger.The telephone at the United States weather bureau office was busy until the wires went down; many could not get the use of the telephone on account of the line being busy. People came to the office in droves inquiring about the weather.About the same time the follow- ing information was given to all alike: “‘The tropical storm is now in the gulf, south or southwest of us; the winds will shift to the north- The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Hurricane Irma, Aug. 30- Sept. 12, 2017 The Great Galveston Storm of 1900 by the numbers: n Estimated MaximumWind Speed: 120 mph.The official ane- mometer blew away after recording a sustained wind speed of 84 mph and gust of 102 mph. n Estimated Storm Surge: 15 to 20 feet. Galveston’s highest point stood only 8.7 feet above sea level.The storm surge occurred at high tide. n Estimated Saffir-Simpson Cate- gory: Category 4 n Estimated Dead: 8,000–6,000 in Galveston + 2,000 in surrounding area (Some place the figure as high as 12,000). n Estimated Number of Homes Destroyed: 3,600 + in Galveston. n Estimated Total Damage: $25 to 50 million (in 1900 dollars); $500 million to $1 billion (in 2003 dollars)