Texas Gulf Coast Disasters: Digital Media Collections

December 10, 2009 12:58 PM

The Texas Gulf Coast is no stranger to disaster - both natural and man-made. The 1900 Storm (previously). The Texas City Disaster (previously). Hurricane Ike (previously). Tropical Storm Allison (previously). New digital media collections, made available through the the University of Houston, shed light on previously overlooked events such as the Hurricane of 1915, and allow a fresh look at well-known disasters such as the Texas City Disaster. A digital slideshow of images and information about The 1900 Storm is also available through the Rosenberg Library in Galveston, Texas. [Please note that some links include images of the deceased which may be NSFW or unsuitable for some audiences.]
posted by greekphilosophy (9 comments total)

The images show bodies being taken for burial at sea, after the 1900 storm. Sadly, many of those bodies washed back ashore.

It is also said that some Black residents of Galveston were conscripted to handle the bodies, and some were shot when they refused.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 1:17 PM on December 10, 2009

Ike took out our family place in Galveston - actually Kemah. Does not make us want to give it up. The ocean calls, and if you listen, you will follow.
posted by Senator at 1:17 PM on December 10, 2009

Since we're sharing coastal disasters, here's a spread showing the BP refinery explosion in Texas City in 2005. (For those that don't know where Texas City is, it's on the way to Galveston from Houston and the refineries look like a city skyline at night.)
posted by Burhanistan at 1:23 PM on December 10, 2009

Looking at the slideshow, and especially the damage to Galveston's City Hall, I can't help but wonder how a city devastated like that continues to exist. Were the city records kept in vaults or something that would allow them to survive? You can just imagine what that kind of flooding would do to paper records.
posted by tommasz at 1:39 PM on December 10, 2009

how a city devastated like that continues to exist

Immigration brought some of the population back. Tourism by the newly rich from Houston's oil boom helped and then came prohibition.
posted by IanMorr at 2:00 PM on December 10, 2009

The local PBS is currently airing a very detailed documentary on the history of Galveston, with a lot of focus on the immigration and economic booms after the 1900 storm.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:06 PM on December 10, 2009

Great post. My family used to vacation every year in Galveston and we would always go to the museum, the memorial, watch the movie, everything. We got caught in a tropical storm one year but nothing like ike. I remember watching the news and pulling up google earth images to see if the vacation house was still there, since it was right on the beach. Everything around it was destroyed but the house was still there. My family also had a running joke that we hoped Texas City wouldn't explode while we drove past it, since they never seemed to figure out how to not cause giant disasters.
posted by dead cousin ted at 3:53 PM on December 10, 2009

We used to root for the storms to head our way, because there was a chance for day off from school. Now I'm sorry for the death and destruction I caused.
posted by king walnut at 5:13 PM on December 10, 2009

Thanks for posting this. Houston is my home town and all these stories are local history for me. It's great to see these resources and get a chance to look through them.
posted by immlass at 9:37 PM on December 10, 2009