Monday, September 9, 2013

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson


I is for Isaac's Storm.  Some time ago I read the Erik Larson book titled "Isaac's Storm", that told about the Great Storm of 1900 by telling the story of Isaac Cline. Isaac was the chief meteorologist at the Galveston, Texas office of the US Weather Bureau at the time of the 1900 Hurricane that devastated the city. The author uses Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, to tell the story of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude.

Some friends of mine from church, Dave and Fay Wiebe, heard me refer to the "Great Storm" of 1900 in a sermon. They brought me a hand typed account by a relative of theirs who survived the storm. The account was dictated and signed by Carrie M. Hughes, and copied by Irby B. Hughes August 9,1957 in Palestine, Texas.


The story tells of how 19 people took refuge in the house. As the water rose, they went to the uppermost room in the house. This is what Carrie Hughes wrote about what happened next. "The tremendous wall of broken houses and debris had struck our house, like a battering ram and crushed the underpart, letting the upper part into the water. As it settled down I felt the ceiling touching the back of my head with the water just under my chin. Instantly the roof of the house seemed to blow over from the south throwing little Mattie and me into a corner of it. The next thing I knew I felt ourselves slipping out. I clutched at the ceiling or walls but could catch hold of nothing. As we slipped into the water my hand was grabbed by Eliza Williams, a colored woman whom I knew well. She drew me partly onto the raft upon which she and her daughter Hattie Banks were floating."



Five members of this family made it through the ordeal and 2 did not. As I read the story, waves of emotion swept over me. I have read many survivor stories before, but this one seemed different, as it was a remembrance recorded so that family members would know what happened that night. Because of my friendship with the Wiebe's it seemed real, like I knew the person telling the story.

This is the way that Carrie finished telling her story. "How gladly would we have lost every dollar we possessed could we have kept dear Mattie and Stuart with us, but we do not morn them as one without hope, knowing we shall meet them again. It is such a comforting thought that they were Christians. We do not know where their beloved remains are resting. It may be in one of the numberless unknown graves that dot the whole face of beloved Galveston. It may be they are resting in the depths of the bay or gulf, or their ashes may have mixed with the earth from which they sprung. Whatever may have become of them we know they are safe in the arms of Jesus."



More than 6,000 men, women and children lost their lives during the Great Storm.   It was the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States.  It is hard to imagine what the people of Galveston went through.  Reading the story of her family as written by Carrie Hughes gave me an idea of the terror that people experienced.

I highly recommend the book, "Isaac's Storm", by Erik Larson.

The ABC Wednesday Meme is a fun way to see some great blogs.

10 comments:

  1. I have read this book and enjoyed it very much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our area was hit by floods last Friday. We were OK but many were absolutely flooded out.
    Denise ABC Team

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I would like to read that book and the first hand account from your friend's family is chilling.
    Thanks for sharing Richie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was in Galveston in 1995 or 1996. Loved the city, but felt that the city never recovered from that flood nearly a century earlier.

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have heard that the area is stunningly beautiful, but I didn't know about that storm. Pray God it never happens again!

    Leslie
    abcw team

    ReplyDelete
  6. Carrie Hughes written account brings home the devastation and loss more than any picture. I had never heard of this storm before.
    Joy - ABC Team

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a charming typewritten account of the storm. Must be a great source of info.

    Hazel

    ReplyDelete
  8. What an ordeal! It must have been sheer hell, but then you see how people start helping and comforting each other. I am always anxious about the disasters happening in Australia: floods, bushfires, tornadoes, you name it. May God protect us from these disasters and help us to make peace among ourselves.
    Thank you Richard for this post.
    Wil, ABCW Team

    ReplyDelete
  9. The hand written account brought chills as I was reading her words. Thank you for sharing. I think the book would be worth reading for sure.
    ann

    ReplyDelete