Hobbies And Interests
Galveston Storm of 1900
Called the Great Storm, on Sept. 8, 1900, a hurricane with winds estimated at 140 miles per hour struck the island of Galveston on the southeastern coast of Texas. The hurricane brought in a storm surge of 15.7 feet, which killed 6,000 of the city's 37,000 residents. Approximately 36,000 buildings were destroyed, and the total cost was more than $20 million. In the aftermath of the storm, Galveston constructed a seawall and raised the grade of the island to protect it from future hurricanes and floods.
Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, in Mississippi as a Category 4 hurricane, she brought with her a devastating storm surge. The walls surrounding New Orleans, just west of where the center of the hurricane came ashore, failed to hold back the storm surge. The result was flooding of the entire city, extensive damage and loss of property. Hurricane Katrina cost an estimated $110 billion in damages and is categorized as the third deadliest hurricane in U.S. history with the loss of 1,836 lives.
Ohio Floods of 1913
The Ohio statewide flood in March-April 1913 was the worst regional flood in terms of loss of life at 476 reported deaths. That flood was caused by excessive rains over a two-month period and cost $143 million.
Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical storms, which are storms that have not reached wind speeds of hurricanes, can be more threatening for flooding because they tend to stall and generate a great deal of rainfall and flooding in one place. In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison came ashore in Houston, Texas, and produced more than 30 inches of rainfall in the city in few days. As a result, more than 70,000 houses were flooded and 2,744 homes were completely destroyed.
Hurricane Camille
A particularly intense storm that struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Aug. 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille boasted winds more than 200 miles per hour and tides over 20 feet. Approximately 433,700 acres of land area flooded along the mainland and the offshore barrier islands, affecting more than 60,000 residents. Many of the islands along Mississippi and Alabama were inundated, and 542 acres of land along the coastal areas were lost to erosion.