NATURAL DISASTERS IN
TH
EARLY 20 CENTURY
AMERICA
By Jamie A. and Laura H.
Horace Greeley
Chappaqua, NY
What role did government
agencies play in dealing
with the natural disasters
of the early 20th century?
The Great Galveston
Hurricane of 1900
The worst natural disaster in US
history
The Great Galveston, Texas
The New York of the Gulf
Wall Street of the Southwest
A booming town
Population 36,000 and an annual population
increase of 3%
Texas’ first post office, telephones, and
medical college
A main southern port
A Storm Surges
Weather Bureau
By the end of the 1800’s Cuba
was known as the best weather
forecasters in the world.
The Spanish American War
broke out in 1898 creating a
tension between the American
weather bureau and the Cuban
Bureau.
Feelings of animosity towards
Cuba began thus causing the
American Weather Bureau to
ignore Cuban reports.
US Weather Bureau and Cuba
Based in Washington DC and headed by
Willis Moore
Regarded Cubans as informants as
inferior and alarmists
o Moore instituted a ban on all transmission
of West Indian Storm Reports from
Bureaus in Havana to New Orleans
o Wrote the Western Union on August 28th
to enforce a cable ban.
Reasons for Shunning Cuba
Bad Weather would Harm the economy.
American superiority and professionalism.
An attitude that data collected by a
government agency is owned by that
government/ agency and shouldn’t be
shared.
Different weather predictions.
A storm is growing
Formed off the cost of Africa (Cape Verde) on
August 27th
Moved towards the southern cost of the US and
hit the Florida Keys and Cuba. Storm started to
curve north...but quickly changed its path
The Cuban Weather Bureau predicted that the
storm would revert back on its path towards the
Gulf of Mexico while the US weather Bureau
stated it would continue moving north and then
they issued a storm warning
in New Jersey
Isaac Cline
Isaac Cline was the U.S. Weather Bureau
climatologist in Galveston. Was well respected
and very trusted although his conclusions about
storms were extremely inaccurate
o “West Indies hurricanes are not a problem
for Texas because they always recurve to
the north before reaching the Western Gulf
of Mexico.”
o “Shallow water offshore from Galveston will
protect the island from hurricane waves.”
o “Buildings can be constructed to survive a
hurricane”
Isaac and the Storm
Signs of a storm on
o Waves pounded the
shores
o Barometric pressure
dropped rapidly
o Fish-scale clouds moved
inland (sign of rain)
Confusion about the storm
o Ambiguous telegraphs from
the D.C. headquarters
o D.C. never issued a hurricane
warning
o Some signs of a hurricane
were missing leading to
further confusion
A Hurricane Comes
to Conquer
Initial Reaction to the Storm
People were not expecting any type of
hurricane and thus fourth took no
measures to protect themselves. People
went about their normal business in the
rain and played in the water that was
flooding their city.
When the train tracks flooded people
waded in the water so that they wouldn’t
miss their lunch appointments and
business meetings.
The Strom Came
Winds that reached 150mph and stronger
Tidal surge from 15 to 20 feet
By 3 pm the entire island was submerged
and by 12 midnight, 15 foot waves
destroyed buildings
The
Orphanage
On the beach of the island of
Galveston was an orphanage of
10 nuns and 93 children.
To calm the children the nuns
had them sing “Queen of the
Waves”
Click here to hear
Queen of the Waves
The nuns tied themselves to six
to eight children using
clothesline rope, in order to
keep them all together.
The Orphanage
The dormitory building was lifted from its
foundation and the roof collapsed,
trapping everyone inside.
The only survivors were three 13 year old
boys. video of orphanage
Seeking Safety
Hundreds fled to the Tremont hotel
which sheltered thousands from the
storm.
Wreckage of the Tremont Hotel
50 People fled to Isaac Clines house
which lay 2 feet above the highest
flooding point ever recorded.
o His house eventually collapsed between 7
and 8 pm. Only 18 people from the house
survived.
The Island Stands Alone
Telegraph lines went down after 3:30
pm
o Took days for word of the storm to get out
Trains were washed off the tracks
o Water flooded the tracks in the downtown
terminal
A steamship broke free of its moorings
and destroyed 3 bridges to the mainland
A City in Shambles
Aftermath of the Storm
Death Toll: Between
8,000- 12,000 people
o Orphanage deaths:
All 10 nuns and 90
children
3,600 homes
destroyed
$700 million of
today's dollars lost
from the wreckage of
commercial structures
Rebuilding a City
Confronting the Disaster
People awoke to a city covered in debris
A view of 27th street and Avenue M
Confronting the Disaster
Dead bodies lay buried around the city.
Workers attempted to pull them out and
identify them. They were eventually cremated
where ever their bodies were found
Videos post Hurricane
Survivors search for bodies
Destroyed Waterfront
Docks after the storm
Help! We need Somebody!
Effecting Business Around
the World
The Red Cross
Clara Barton
Under the leadership of Clara
Barton the Red Cross went to
help Galveston
The Red Cross established an
orphanage for storm victims and
helped collect lumber to rebuild
houses.
The organization raised money by
selling photographs of the storm
devastation.
Pulling Together
Sept. 9th Mayor Walter C. Jones called
an emergency council meeting and
formed the Central Relief Committee
The Galveston Daily News continues
publishing and never missed an issue
Telegraph and water service were
restored
Lines for a new telephone system were
laid
After 3 weeks saloons reopened, electric
trolleys operated and freight began to
move through the harbors.
Fixing a Broken City: Putting up a
Seawall
A seawall was built from 6th street to 39th street
in order to protect the city from future
hurricanes
Fixing a Broken City: Raising the
Elevation
Alfred Novel, Henry M. Robert and H.C.
Ripley had the ingenious idea to raise the
city to the height of the seawall.
o The city was elevated 17 feet
o 2,156 houses had to be raised to accommodate
the heightened elevation.
o Streets, sidewalks, sewer lines, ad entire
infrastructures had to be raised.
Fixing a Broken City: Raising the
Elevation
16 million cubic yards of sand were imported
onto the island
The sand was dredged from Galveston’s own ship
channel and pumped into quarter-square-mile
sections of the city
Galveston could recover the living conditions
on the island but never regained its status
The Great San Francisco
Earthquake & Fire
of 1906
An unparalleled disaster in the
history of San Francisco
Those who dwell in the city of San Francisco and in
the whole area affected by the great earthquake felt
from the first that they were living though an historic
epoch and that the eyes of the world were fixed upon
them. As the great fire spread, even those who lost
their homes and saw the city of their love being
consumed by flames, realized that they were in the
presence of one of the most tremendous conflagrations
ever known and felt in the very magnitude of the
disaster the realization of the fact that its magnitude
gave it a permanent place in history.
- How the History of the Disaster is Being Made,
Henry Morse Stephens
The Gateway to the Pacific
At the time of the disaster, San Francisco
had been the 9th largest city in the U.S. &
the largest city on the west coast
From the 1840’s up until the disaster, the
city had become the financial, trade, and
cultural center of the West
It operated the busiest port on the west
coast and was known as “the gateway to the
Pacific,” through which the growing US
economy and military power was projected
into the Pacific and Asia
April 18, 1906
San Francisco was rudely awakened at 5:13
a.m. by a great earthquake
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of trapped
persons died when South-of-Market tenements
collapsed as the ground liquefied beneath them
Most of the collapsed buildings immediately
caught fire and trapped victims could rarely be
rescued in time
The situation was then made worse by the
Great Fire that burned for 4 days straight
The Shock
The effect of the earthquake was felt from
Coos Bay, Oregon, to Los Angeles, and as far
east as central Nevada
The earthquake shock therefore consisted of
an area of 375,000 square miles
The extreme destruction consisted of an
area of 400 miles, from the southern part of
Fresno County to Eureka
The main shock epicenter occurred offshore
about 2 miles from the city, near Mussel Rock. It
ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both
northward and southward, for a total length of
296 miles
San Andreas
Fault
A geological fault
that runs through
western and southern
California
- It’s roughly 800
miles long
- After the 1906
San Francisco
Earthquake it
was discovered
that this fault
stretched well
southward into
Southern California
The Aftershock
For the 10 days following April 18th it was
impossible for anyone to purchase supplies
 Most of the warehouses containing food supplies
were lost in the fire
 The warehouses that were saved were seized by civil
authorities to feed the hungry population
The financial district was in mass ruins. There
was no money and rich and poor alike were
compelled to stand in the bread lines
After the disaster there was a period of several
days where inclement weather added much to
the suffering of all
In the burnt district the streets were
impassible
 One of the most important duties was the clearing of
the streets to facilitate transportation
The Total Effects
More than 4.7 square miles of San Francisco
burned and crumbled “into a windswept desert of
desolation” known as the “burned district”
225-300 thousand people (out of San Francisco’s
450,000) were left homeless by the disaster
After the disaster
More than 3,000 deaths were caused directly or
indirectly by the catastrophe
28,188 buildings were destroyed
Monetary loss: more than $400,000,000 in 1906
dollars (around 6.5 billion dollars today)
 $80,000,000 from the earthquake
 $320,000,000 from the fires
Mayor E.E. Schmitz issues a
A proclamation:
April 18
Schmitz orders gas & electric
lighting companies to turn off
gas & electricity
Tells the citizens to “expect
the city to remain in darkness
for an indefinite time”
Orders police force, “special
police officers”, and federal
troops to kill all people involved
in crime or “looting”
Orders citizens to stay at home
everyday from sunset to
sunrise, until “order is
restored”
Orders citizens to stay at home
everyday from sunset to
sunrise, until “order is
restored”
Downplaying the Damage
There were over 3,000 deaths, the U.S. Army relief
operations recorded only 498 deaths in San
Francisco, 64 deaths in Santa Rosa, & 102 deaths
in/near San Jose
At the time the average number of deaths reported
to the public was 375
 This figure was concocted by government officials/
political and business leaders who felt that reporting the
true death toll would hurt real estate prices, the effort
to rebuild the San Francisco, & outside investment in the
city
 Also, hundreds of deaths in Chinatown went ignored and
unrecorded due to racism at the time
Due to the almost universal practice of insurers to
protect San Francisco properties from fire and not
earthquake damage, most damage through the city
was blamed on the fires
The Subsequent Fires
Though the earthquake was strong, the fires
that burned afterwards were much more
destructive to the city
Fires broke out all through the city. Many
were fueled by natural gas mains that were
broken by the quake
Many other fires were the result of arson and
campfires set by refugees
Several fires in the downtown merged to
become one giant “inferno”
The fires lasted for 4 days and 4 nights, &
ultimately destroyed over 500 city blocks
View from Laguna and Market streets of the Great
Fire burning through the Mission District
The Army’s Role in the Aftermath
During the first few
days the soldiers
provided valuable
services patrolling
streets to discourage
looting
The army helped to
guard buildings such
as the U.S. Mint, post
office, & county jail
They aided the fire
department in
dynamiting to
demolish buildings in
the path of the fire
Fifth Street entrance to the U.S.
Mint after the 1906 Earthquake
and Fire. The area around the
building became a refugee village
Help of the Army
The U.S.S. Preble from Mare Island set up
multiple hospital shore parties to help the
wounded and dying who sought help at Harbor
Emergency Hospital
16 enlisted men and 2 officers from the USS
Chicago supervised the rescue of 20,000
refugees fleeing the Great Fire
Panic was prevented in San Francisco by the
co-operation of the military & civil authorities,
aided by unselfish citizens, who sacrificed
their own property for the general good
 Without the army there would have been much
chaos and anarchy
The Role of the U.S. Army Medical
Department
After the earthquake and fire the most
admirable sanitary and emergency work was
done by the officers and men of the medical
department under Colonel G.H. Torney
General Funston placed Colonel Torney as the
head of the sanitation department and said
all of his orders must be strictly followed
 This gave the Medical Department unrestricted
power and enabled them to act promptly &
effectively in meeting the emergency problems
of sanitation
The Relocation & Housing
of the Displaced
The U.S. Army became responsible for
feeding, sheltering, and clothing the tens
of thousands of displaced residents of the
city
The Army built 5,610 redwood and fir
“relief houses” to accommodate the
20,000 displaced people
The temporary homes were divided into 11
camps packed close together. The camps
had a peak population of 16, 448 people,
but by 1907 most had moved out
Many refugees built shanties from any available materials to
house themselves after the disaster. This encampment is near
the Marina. The Army later provided tents for refugees
Presidio of San Francisco Relief Camp:
One of several large relief camps established by the U.S.
Army at the Presidio of San Francisco
View of the
U.S. Post
Office
substation at
the Hamilton
Square
Refugee
Camp
Monetary assistance
During the first few days after the news of
the disaster had reached the rest of the world,
relief efforts had reached over $5,000,000
England raised hundreds of thousands of
dollars
The U.S. government immediately gave one
million in supplies which were rushed to the city
Individual citizens & businesses donated large
sums of money to the relief effort




Standard Oil: $100,000
Andrew Carnegie: $100,000
The Dominion of Canada: $100,000
The Bank of Canada: $25,000
The Citizens’ Committee of Fifty
On the morning of the earthquake Mayor
Schmitz hurriedly appointed The Citizens
Committee of Fifty, 50 representative citizens
of San Francisco
 On this morning the Committee met with Mayor
Schmitz, the Chief of Police, and the U.S.
military authorities
Under orders of civil authorities, the
Committee of Fifty and its sub committees
were authorized to purchase, seize or
confiscate food and clothing
This committee later functioned as the
Earthquake History Committee, financed by the
Red Cross and Relief Corporation
The Value of the
Southern Pacific Evacuation
The Southern Pacific evacuation accounts for
50% of the population evacuated by rail
By August 1906 Southern Pacific had
evacuated a total of 300 thousand, (out of a
population of around 400,000) which may be
one of the largest evacuations in history
The value of the transportation issued free by
the Southern Pacific at San Francisco,
Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sacramento &
Vallejo is hard to estimate but without a doubt
exceeded $400,000
Outside Help
Philadelphia sent multiple military trains
to California with over 100 men in each
train with officer
Chicago sent hundreds of medical
specialists (consisting of nurses and
doctors) for relief camps
The California Northwestern
established a ferry service between
Sausalito, touching Tiburon and going
directly to Oakland pier
Evacuation of San Francisco By Sea
By Alexander Coulter
Reconstruction of
San Francisco
In a rush to rebuild to the city, building
standards lowered by as much as 50%
People in San Francisco were in a rush to
rebuild because of the desire to be ready for
an international exposition set to be hosted in
1915
Indeed, by 1915 the city was practically
completely rebuilt and the damage was barely
visible
Therefore reconstruction was completed in
time for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which
celebrated the reconstruction of the city and
its “rise from the ashes”
The Result of the Disaster on San
Francisco
Even though San Francisco rebuilt quickly,
the disaster diverted trade, industry and
population growth south to Los Angeles
As a result, during the 20th century Los
Angeles became the largest and most
important urban area in the West
Also, because of the catastrophe many of
the cities leading poets and writers left to
“Carmel-by-the-Sea” where they
established an arts colony reputation as
“The Bohemians”
Differences Between the Disasters
 San Francisco regained its status as a
major city while Galveston was never
able to regain its status as one of the
major cities of the south.
 In Galveston government agencies are
noted for their role in the destruction
of Galveston while in San Francisco
government agencies helped piece the
city back together again.
Similarities Between the Disasters
 The main priority after making sure the
people were okay was to rebuild the city
in a way that a disaster like this would
not have the same detrimental effect as
it did the 1st time.
 In both situations the people were
unprepared and unaware of the natural
disasters that were soon to come.
The End