And Galveston? Today it is ranked sixty-eighth in population in the state. Just 50,400 people live there, fewer than in many medium-sized towns.
Perhaps most important: The Galveston hurricane showed what happens when we try to ignore the power of nature. Most people in Galveston really did believe that it was impossible for a powerful hurricane to strike their city.
They believed this even though their city sits on a flat island surrounded by the sea.
They believed this even though the city was constantly being flooded.
And they believed this even though Galveston had been destroyed before.
So why did so many sensible people believe that Galveston couldn’t be struck
This question echoed through my mind as I researched this book. I couldn’t find a simple answer. It’s true that scientists were just beginning to understand the science of weather in 1900. There wasn’t much information. And if you wanted to learn about hurricanes, you couldn’t just google it. Remember, this storm happened 1900. Google? iPhones? Such technology was a century away. You would have been lucky to find a single weather book in a library.
Even so, people didn’t need Google to realize that Galveston faced a huge hurricane risk. It was obvious. So — again — why did so many people ignore the risks? I think the main reason is the simplest: It was easier. Thinking about a powerful hurricane is scary. And remember Galveston’s race with Houston. Galveston’s leaders wanted their city to keep growing. But would people want to move to a city that lay in the path of dangerous hurricanes? Maybe not.
In 1899, Galveston was the fastest growing city in the South — and one of the richest in the world. Notice all the different kinds of buggies and carriages. At the time, the first motorcars were appearing on American streets.
But the hurricane in Galveston taught people how dangerous it is to deny the risk of a powerful storm. To be fair, in 1900, people had fewer tools for predicting when and where hurricanes could strike. But there were still steps Galveston’s leaders could have taken to educate people about storms, to better protect the city’s residents.
Today we have far more ways to keep ourselves safe. Satellites in space keep an eye on Earth; weather scientists spot hurricanes almost the moment they form over our oceans. Computers help weather experts plot where a storm might strike. People living in a storm’s path get lots of warning so they can prepare — or escape— before it’s too late.
Writing this book was painful at times. I kept thinking about how the people of Galveston suffered. My heart kept breaking as I read stories of real people who suffered through that day.
And there was something else going on while I was writing this book — the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a dark and difficult time for all of us.
To all of you readers, parents, and teachers, I want you to know how much you brightened my days. I met hundreds of you during virtual visits. I loved your questions and your smiles. You teachers inspired me with your dedication.
I feel lucky, as always, to be a part of your world.
With admiration and gratitude,
Between 6,000 and 12,000 people died
More than 7,000 buildings were destroyed, including 3,600 houses
10,000 people were left homeless
The mountain of debris after the storm was 3 miles long and 30 feet high
25 churches were destroyed
After the storm, the official death toll was set at 6,000. However, experts agree it was far higher. The exact figure can’t be known because so many people were swept out to sea.
No other U.S. natural disaster has come close to taking as many lives. The San Francisco earthquake and fire, which happened six years later, in 1906, killed about 3,000.
HURRICANES ARE THE MOST VIOLENT STORMS ON EARTH
The more I learn about hurricanes, the more I think that Lulu had the right idea when she imagined the cloud monster. These storms really are monstrous!
No storms are bigger. No storms pack more destructive power. But what exactly are hurricanes?
They are big, swirling storms with winds that are at least 74 miles per hour. These storms create enormous amounts of rain. They gain strength over oceans, feeding on the warm, moist air over the water. They range in size from 100 miles to more than 1,000 miles wide.
A hurricane packs three dangerous forces:
Winds, which can rip apart houses and topple trees
Rain, in enormous quantities, which can cause flooding
The “storm surge,” a wall of ocean water that is pushed onto land by the hurricane’s winds.
It is estimated that the storm surge sent 15 feet of water rushing over Galveston.
Today, hurricanes are given a rank based on the strength of their winds. A category 1 storm is the weakest. Category 5 are the true monsters, with winds that can reach 200 miles per hour. These rankings didn’t exist in 1900, but experts say the Galveston hurricane would have been a category 4.
Weather satellites in the sky take pictures that show us hurricanes as they move across the oceans. Notice the swirling shape, and the tiny hole in the center. That hole is called the “eye.” The strongest hurricane winds are right next to the eye.
THE GALVESTON HURRICANE WAS BORN IN AFRICA, 5,000 MILES AWAY
So are most of the powerful hurricanes that strike land along the America’s eastern and southern coasts. These monstrous storms begin over the Sahara desert. Hot desert air meets moist air from the Indian Ocean. High in the sky, bundles of clouds gather together. These are known as “easterly waves.”
Every few days, an “easterly” leaves the African coast and heads west over the Atlantic Ocean. Most of them die out quickly. But some keep chugging along until they reach a group of islands off the African coast. These are the Cape Verde islands. And this is where trouble often begins. It’s here that these easterly clouds can grow and transform into thunderstorms. Winds start to swirl, sucking in energy from the moist air over the ocean.
They start to move east again, gaining speed and power from the moist ocean air — and at some point, they become hurricanes.
Not all hurricanes that hit the U.S. are these “Cape Verde” hurricanes. Other powerful hurricanes can form in Caribbean Sea or in the Gulf of Mexico. But over the past 200 years, 85 percent of the biggest and most powerful hurricanes to hit the United States have been Cape Verde hurricanes.
The Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa.
DR. ISAAC CLINE WAS A REAL PERSON
He was the head of the Galveston Weather Bureau, and a respected weather expert. He was married and had three daughters — Rosemary was his middle daughter. Dr. Cline really did believe that Galveston could not be hit by a powerful hurricane. In 1891, he wrote an article in the Galveston Daily News. In it, he wrote that it would be “impossible” for a hurricane to “create a storm wave that would … injure the city.”
Dr. Isaac Cline was a widely respected scientist in Galveston and within the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Early Friday morning, the day before the storm, Dr. Cline noticed that the Gulf was behaving strangely. It looked very calm. But every few minutes, the water would seem to rise up by a few feet and then go down again. Dr. Cline knew these rises were caused by “deep water swells.” These were a sign that not so far away, a big storm was churning up the Gulf.
Dr. Cline grew more and more nervous throughout Friday, and by Saturday morning, he was convinced that a hurricane was coming. In the end, his own house was washed away. He and his three daughters survived. His wife, Cora, did not.
GALVESTON IS NOW PROTECTED BY A GIANT SEAWALL
In 1886, town leaders discussed building a seawall to protect Galveston. This came after a hurricane destroyed the nearby city of Indianola, about 150 miles to the southwest. But Galveston’s leaders rejected the idea of building a wall. It would cost millions — and take years. And why bother since (they believed) a similar hurricane could not strike their city?
And then came the 1900 hurri
cane.
In 1902, construction began on a 17-foot-tall, 3-mile-wide-long wall of concrete, wood, stone, and steel. It was completed in 1904 and was later lengthened. Today it is ten miles long.
The Galveston seawall, completed in 1904, helps protect the city from punishing hurricane waves.
Even more remarkable, 500 blocks of Galveston were raised up during one of the most amazing engineering projects of the early twentieth century. Between 1903 and 1911, more than 3,000 buildings — houses, churches, businesses — were raised up onto jacks or stilts.
Sand and mud was dug up or “dredged” from near Galveston Bay. This sandy muck was piped underneath the buildings, which were then lowered back onto the ground. During these years, people walked along raised walkways that zigzagged the city.
What a mess!
But when this project was finished, much of Galveston was between 8 and 17 feet higher, and better protected from floods and storms.
During years that Galveston was being raised up, it was known as the “City on Stilts.”
ANOTHER MAJOR HURRICANE STRUCK GALVESTON IN 1915
The winds did not reach the same strength as the 1900 storm. But the hurricane hovered over the coast for twice as long, hammering the city with powerful winds, drenching it with record-breaking amounts of rain. The entire downtown was flooded with at least 6 feet of water. But the seawall did its job. Waves pounded against it for hours and hours, but the wall stood firm. Houses were destroyed, but only those that were behind the reach of the wall.
Only 11 people in the city lost their lives.
Still, the storm caused millions of dollars of damage. Every ship in the port was destroyed. The cleanup took months. This storm, coming only 15 years after the first, was another reminder of Galveston’s hurricane risk.
IN 1900, MAGICIANS WERE HUGE CELEBRITIES
You’ve probably heard of Harry Houdini. In 1900, he was just one of several world-famous magicians dazzling the world with their shows. Back then, kids didn’t play video games or watch streaming shows. Magic was a wildly popular hobby — every kid wanted their own magic kit. This was the “golden age” of magic.
Professional magicians were the most famous performers in the world. Houdini was just getting started in 1900. Far more famous was a man named Harry Kellar. Imagine your favorite athlete, singer, TV star, and YouTuber all combined into one superstar. That was Harry Kellar. He was even the inspiration for the wizard in The Wizard of Oz.
Harry Kellar and Harry Houdini
An advertisement for one of Harry Kellar’s magic shows.
I’ve tried a few times to slip Harry Kellar into my I Survived books. And I was determined to put him front and center in this book. I read all about him and became fascinated by his tricks. Especially that ring trick, when he crushed the ring, sprinkled the powder into a gun, and made it appear in a box. (It was actually more complicated when he performed it. After many drafts, I decided to make it simpler for Charlie’s story.)
How did he do it? None of the books revealed this secret.
So I got in touch with one of today’s famous magicians, Dean Carnegie. He said that kind of trick was pretty common in those days. He explained that Kellar didn’t really crush the ring. He’d slipped them into his pocket and pretended to crush them. The box was a trick box, with some kind of opening in the box that let him slip the ringinside before he opened it.
Amazing!
But in the end, Kellar didn’t make it into my book. I decided to make up my own magician, Antonio Meraki. I included some details I learned from Kellar — like the ring trick. But I had the freedom to create fictional details so they worked better with Charlie and his journey.
I chose the name Meraki because it’s one of my favorite words. It’s Greek, and it means a special kind of joy you feel when you put your heart and soul into something you love to do.
And that’s how I feel when I’m writing these books for you — meraki.
Storms are frightening to think about. It’s so much easier to put them out of our minds. But that’s not a good idea. Being prepared can actually make us feel less scared — and safer if a storm actually hits.
Here’s how you and your family can get started.
1. KNOW YOUR RISK
Do you live near an ocean, a gulf, a sea or a sound? (I do.) Then you could experience a hurricane. And even if you don’t live right on the water, there are still big risks from the winds and the rains. It’s also helpful to learn about hurricanes that happened in the past.
2. HELP YOUR FAMILY MAKE A PLAN
Luckily, today we get plenty of warnings before storms. If necessary, you and your family might decide to leave your home — evacuate — until the storm is over and it’s safe to return. It’s a good idea for you and your family to talk about this. Where would you go? What would you take with you?
You can also talk to your teacher at school about inviting someone from your town’s police or fire department to come talk to your class about being prepared.
3. DON’T GO OUTSIDE DURING A HURRICANE
People can get badly hurt by trees and other objects picked up by the wind (remember Charlie and those cannonball bricks). Never go to the beach to look at the stormy sea. Even after a storm is over, be careful. Never go near a wire that has been brought down by the wind — you could get shocked. Even after the storm is over, be careful of trees that could be damaged and may have cracked limbs.
4. HELP THOSE IN NEED
Every year, millions of people around the world are impacted by extreme weather like hurricanes. You and your friends can help them by raising money and donating clothing and other supplies. Have your parents or teacher help you. Always work with an experienced and trusted aid organization that will make sure your donation goes to people in need.
Some suggestions:
Save the Children
savethechildren.org
American Red Cross
redcross.org
World Vision
worldvision.org
Lauren Tarshis’s New York Times bestselling I Survived series tells stories of young people and their resilience and strength in the midst of unimaginable disasters and times of turmoil. Lauren has brought her signature warmth, integrity, and exhaustive research to topics such as the September 11 attacks, the American Revolution, Hurricane Katrina, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and other world events. Lauren lives in Connecticut with her family, and can be found online at laurentarshis.com.
Text copyright © 2021 by Dreyfuss Tarshis Media Inc.
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Scholastic Inc.
Photos ©: swimming: Courtesy of the Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas; pier: Tim Leviston/EyeEm/Getty Images; Market Street: Courtesy of the Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas; busy street: Library of Congress/Getty Images; wreckage: Archive Photos/Getty Images; hurricane: NASA/GSFC/Phil Degginger/Color-Pic/Alamy Stock Photo; map: Oleksandr Tikki/Getty Images; Isaac Cline: National Archives; seawall: Courtesy of the Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas; stilts: Courtesy of the Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas; Kellar and Houdini: Hi-Story/Alamy Stock Photo; Kellar ad: Keith Corrigan/Alamy Stock Photo.
Special thanks to Jami Durham, Dale Carnegie, Casey Green, and Lauren Martino Henry.
This book is being published simultaneously in hardcover by Scholastic Press.
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While inspired by real events and historical characters, this is a work of fiction and does not claim to be historically accurate or to portray factual events or relationships. Please keep in mind that references to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales may not be factually accurate, but rather fictionalized
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First printing 2021
e-ISBN 978-1-338-75255-7
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