| The
1900 hurricane that hit Galveston was the worst natural disaster
in U.S. history. More than 8,000 men, women and children perished
on September 8, 1900 when the Category 4 hurricane barreled
into Galveston. Waves were higher than 15 feet and winds howled
at 130 miles per hour. By the time the storm had passed, half
of the island's homes had been swept away by the waves. Visit
the internet sites for reports about the Galveston hurricane.
What
you need:
A roll of paper, ruler or measuring tape, marker, calculator
| What
to do: |
| 1. |
Cut
a 15 foot length of paper. Make two marks on the paper,
one at five feet and one at nine feet, on the 15-foot
section. |
| 2. |
The
entire sheet represents the height of the waves as the
hurricane swept over the island. The two marks represents
the high and low elevations of Galveston Island over
sea level prior to the storm. |
| 3. |
The
waves coming in from the hurricane were part of the
storm surge. The storm surge is water ahead of the storm
that is pushed by the storm's high winds. Imagine you
and all your friends in a shallow swimming pool where
the water is only chest deep. Together you join arms
and move together from one end of the pool to the other.
The force of your bodies moving together will drive
some of the water to the other end of the pool. That
is one of the forces driving a storm surge. Water weighs
8.33 pounds per gallon. If you were hit by 150 gallons
of water, how many pounds of force would that be? |
| 4. |
Galveston
was rebuilt after the storm. Considering the heavy damage
done by the storm surge, what would you have done after
the storm to prevent such horrendous damage from occurring
again? |
| 5. |
Imagine
you are one of the 200 survivors of the 1900 hurricane
who rode out the storm in the Gresham house (now the
Bishop's Palace). Research the events of the storm using
the internet and write a letter to one of your friends
describing what happened during the storm. |
| 6. |
Find
Isaac Cline's report of weather conditions on September
8th and 9th and chart wind direction and speed. |
Explanation:
Many homes were destroyed by the storm surge, and more people
probably died from drowning that from other causes in the
hurricane. In addition many home were washed off their foundations
and shoved into other homes, stores, and other buildings.
The weight of 150 gallons of water is 1,249.5 pounds.
The rebuilders of Galveston did two things to reduce the
likelihood of storm damage: they built a six-mile-long seawall
standing 17 feet above mean low tide, and they raised the
island by dredging sand from the ship channel and dumping
it on the island. The island was raised as much as 17 feet
in some locations.
Cline's report shows the increasing wind speeds and change
of wind direction as the hurricane's eye passed over the
island.
Internet
sites:
Galveston storm:
www.noaa.gov/galveston1900/
www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/GG/ydg2_print.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900
www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/cline2.html
Hurricanes:
www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_surge
TEKS
SOCIAL STUDIES Grade 7: 9c, 10 ab, 21b, 23a
LANGUAGE ARTS Grade 7: 10a-d,e, 12a 13cde, 15ce
Programs at The Science Place related to this topic:
Classroom Program: Air & Weather
Materials from the Teacher Resource Center:
Reservations
and Information
Reservations
Department
(214) 428-5555 Press 8 at any time during the recorded message
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Fax (214) 428-4310
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