1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Hey, Happy Saturday, everybody. We are nearing the end of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: the hurricane season, so this seemed like is good a 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: time as any to share this classic episode from featuring 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: five intense storm events. It's a mix of hurricanes, tornadoes, 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: and freshwater storm surge all making appearances, and it is 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: brought to you by previous hosts Sarah and Bablina. I'm 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: really glad we're sharing this one because it includes two 8 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: very frequent listener requests that are the tri State tornado 9 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: of and the Galves and the hurricane of nine Dred. 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: So batting down your hatches and enjoy. Welcome to Stuff 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: you missed in history class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 12 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Doubla Chocolate Boarding and 13 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: I'm Sara Douty. And since we're in the middle of 14 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: Atlantic hurricane season in our part of the world, and 15 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: maybe it's also a little bit because it's been really 16 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: stormy here all week, so we've got storms on the brain, 17 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: we thought it'd be interesting to take a look at 18 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: some historical storms. After all, the truly big ones really 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: are kind of characters in their own right, and they 20 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: often change the story of whatever area they decided to visit, 21 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: and the lives of the people who live there. I 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: think that's really emphasized by the fact that we give 23 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: them names now though they really do have sort of 24 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: a personality, and those names become almost taboo in the 25 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: immediate years after a really big storm hit. And I 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: think that's especially true with Hurricane Katrina, so a recent 27 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: storm in recent history. You know, we're not gonna be 28 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: talking about Katrina on the podcast today, but it certainly 29 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: comes to mind if you're thinking about really giant storms 30 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: in the United States. Right It was a Category five 31 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: storm led to severe flooding and spawned tornadoes that killed 32 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: around eight people across several states. But as Sarah said, 33 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: we're not going to get into Katrina in this podcast 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: so much today, but it did get us thinking a 35 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: lot about some of the most destructive storms that left 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: their marks on the world over time. So we're gonna 37 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: take a look at just a handful of those. We're 38 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: not going to cover them all by any means today, 39 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: but we're gonna take a look at a few that 40 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: we think are pretty interesting. We are, So we're gonna 41 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: start back in nineteen five with a tornado and most 42 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,119 Speaker 1: of the storms we're gonna be talking about our hurricanes 43 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 1: or cyclones, um cyclones in the um the non American 44 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: sense of Dorothy and the oz. But this one is 45 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: a true tornado, the Try State tornado. And your average 46 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: tornado is about five hundred to two thousand feet wide, 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: and it travels at about a speed of thirty miles 48 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,399 Speaker 1: per hour, so pretty scary even if you just leave 49 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: it at that. We had a tornado in Atlanta a 50 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: few years ago, went right through downtown. It was a 51 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: scary storm, it was. But this next entry on our list, 52 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,839 Speaker 1: the n Try State tornado, was massive enough to leave 53 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: that tornado and most typical tornadoes that we encounter in 54 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: this country in the dust. It formed at about one 55 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: pm on March eighteenth, somewhere around the town of Ellington 56 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: and southeastern Missouri, and it was nearly a mile wide, 57 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: moving at an average speed of about sixty two miles 58 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: per hour and at times even up to seventy three 59 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: miles per hour. And it was possibly because of that 60 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: great width that a lot of people who saw the 61 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: storm coming didn't even realize at first that it was 62 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: a tornado. Looked like a cloud wall right and according 63 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: to an article by Sean Potter and Weatherwise magazine. W. F. Haywood, 64 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: who was the postmaster for Ellington, made one of the 65 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: first recorded sightings of the tornado, and he just observed 66 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: it as a quote blue black cloud mass that was 67 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: coming toward them. He was lucky though, compared to some 68 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: who didn't even see it coming at all. Yeah, people 69 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: described being in buildings when windows suddenly started to shatter, 70 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: walls came crumbling down, Whole houses were just lifted off 71 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: the ground. Wizard of As style. Definitely and too late 72 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: if you realize you're in a tornado. But it moved 73 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: quickly too, so even though it was so giant, it 74 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: was moving along at quite a clip, it covered a 75 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: lot of ground. It hit parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, 76 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: traveling a total of two hundred nineteen miles in only 77 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: three and a half hours, which was more than thirty 78 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: six times as much as an average tornado covers more 79 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: than thirty six times as much ground. In an article 80 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: on American Heritage, whilst Aken calls it quote the longest 81 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: uninterrupted track on a record. In total, six people were 82 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: killed and more than two thousand were injured as a 83 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: result of the storm, fifteen thousand homes were destroyed. The 84 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: town that was hardest hit, which is the one we 85 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: want to kind of give a few details about, was Murphy'sboro, Illinois. 86 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: Two hundred and thirty four people died in that town alone, 87 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: and that's set a record for the most tornado fatalities 88 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: in a single place. And Aiken, the writer that we 89 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: just mentioned, he was actually a toddler living in Murphy's 90 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: Borough when the tornado struck, and his article that we 91 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: mentioned relates some stories of residents and others who lived 92 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: through the experience. I think he also has a book 93 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: on the subject. And one one story that he relates 94 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: that I found particularly chilling involves the town's children who 95 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: were in school at the time that the tornado struck. 96 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: The school building basically collapsed on the kids died. Some 97 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: who survived struggled out from under the debris on their 98 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: own and headed for their homes. You know, it's a 99 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,600 Speaker 1: natural instinct for kids, you know, I'm going to head 100 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: for home. I'm going to find my family. But they 101 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: found in many cases that their homes were completely gone. 102 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: Even entire neighborhoods had vanished. One friend of Aiken's recalled 103 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,840 Speaker 1: reaching his home what he what should have been his home, 104 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,799 Speaker 1: which was nothing but an open field, with her grandmother 105 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: in the middle of it, decapitated and still sitting in 106 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: her rocking chair. So completely horrifying site. After surviving and 107 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: already horrifying situation. Yeah, and horrific sites like these seemed 108 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: pretty typical for those who managed to live through that 109 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: in initial chaos, since there were plenty of dead and 110 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,919 Speaker 1: injured people around who needed tending to. Medical teams and 111 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: supplies started to pour in from all over the country. 112 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,840 Speaker 1: One point that I thought was interesting, and according to 113 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: Potter's article, Chicago even offered up some liquor that had 114 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: been confiscated by the federal government after some prohibition raids, 115 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 1: and so they quote and made this available in a 116 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: medicinal way to the storm suffers. There is a silver 117 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: lining um to this disaster in a way it raised 118 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: public awareness about tornadoes. I was really interested to find. 119 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: In this popular Mechanics article, John Galvin writes about how 120 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: even using the word tornado was considered taboo by the 121 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: National Weather Service at this time, basically because tornadoes were 122 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: so unpredictable, talking about them was thought to cause pointless 123 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: panic that don't let people know until their houses are rattling. 124 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:55,840 Speaker 1: Well yeah, I mean, I don't know if they exactly 125 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: looked at it that way, but I guess they just 126 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: thought there was really no use since that you could 127 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: really right, But after the tri State tornado, local Tornado 128 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: Spoty network started popping up, so people were more aware 129 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: and we're taking steps to protect themselves a little bit. 130 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: And of course, researchers know so much more about tornadoes 131 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: now than they did back then, so much so that 132 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: in recent years some have suggested that the Tri State 133 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: tornado might have actually been a family of tornadoes, not 134 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: one single tornado that was caused by a super self thunderstorm. 135 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,239 Speaker 1: So this theory hasn't been definitively proven, and I guess 136 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: may never be, but this remains the single deadliest tornado 137 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: in history because they can't prove that it was a 138 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: family of tornadoes. Well, so, now that we've discussed that 139 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: type of storm pretty etherly, we're gonna move on to hurricanes, 140 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: and we're gonna be talking about a few hurricanes in 141 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: this episode, and the first one is the Great Hurricane 142 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: of seventeen eighty And today we're lucky that meteorologists have 143 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: the knowledge and the technology to estimate the strength of 144 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: storms and even predict their potential paths to some degree. 145 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: So you know, you're just talking about you couldn't tell 146 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: where tornadoes were going. Imagine if you couldn't tell really 147 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: where a hurricane was going to go. I know, it's 148 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: still a little up in the air, but they can 149 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: give you some warning. But when you're talking about a 150 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: storm like the next one on our list, though, which 151 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: happened more than two hundred years ago, of course, there 152 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: was not that luxury. So modern researchers have had to 153 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: piece together some details regarding characteristics of the Great Hurricane 154 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: of seventeen eighty based on anecdotal evidence of the kind 155 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: of destruction that it caused, sort of having to look 156 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: back at it and figure out what the storm was 157 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: really like. Yeah, and that destruction that you just mentioned 158 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: was really significant, to say the least. The fact that 159 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: just considering the fact that it stood out so much 160 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: in what was already an act of hurricane season that year, 161 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: should hint at that. But the death toll also speaks 162 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: for itself. More than twenty thousand people in the Eastern 163 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,479 Speaker 1: Caribbean lost their lives. According to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency 164 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: Response Agency, researchers estimate that the hurricane formed in the 165 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: Atlantic and move westward very slowly at about six nautical 166 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: miles per hour. The storm got to Barbados on October tenth, where, 167 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia Britannica, it destroyed nearly all the homes 168 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,079 Speaker 1: on the island and about four thousand, five hundred people 169 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,839 Speaker 1: lost their lives. The hurricane went on to hit pretty 170 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: much every island from Tobago to the Leeward Islands to Hispaniola, 171 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: but the biggest death tolls came out of Barbados and Martinique, 172 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: where nine thousand people died, and also sent Eustatious, where 173 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: four thousand, five hundred people also died. Researchers also believed 174 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: that the Great Hurricane was a Category five with winds 175 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: greater than two hundred miles per hour, and again they've 176 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: guessed that pieced it together just from reports of the 177 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: storm damage and examples of anecdotes that were offered up 178 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency. One of those 179 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,439 Speaker 1: examples came from a letter sent in December of that 180 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: year from Sir George Rodney, and he wrote about the 181 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: events in Barbados and said, quote, the strongest building in 182 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: the whole of the houses, most of which were stone 183 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: and remarkable for their solidity, gave way to the fury 184 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 1: of the wind and were torn up to their foundations. 185 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: All the forts destroyed, and many of the heavy cannon 186 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,199 Speaker 1: carried upwards of a hundred feet from the forts. Had 187 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: I not been an eyewitness, and nothing could have induced 188 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: me to have believed it, more than six thousand persons 189 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: perished and all the inhabitants were entirely ruined. So pretty serious, 190 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,199 Speaker 1: I mean, the sight of cannons blowing up into the air. 191 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,439 Speaker 1: I think that's the strongest point he makes there. That's true. 192 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: But I think this other point made by Dr Gilbert 193 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 1: Blaine in a letter that he wrote, is also very interesting. 194 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: He says, quote what will give a strong and idea 195 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: of the force of the wind as anything. Many of them, 196 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: and the trees is what he was referring to, were 197 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: stripped of their bark. So today we know that this 198 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: hasn't been observed in hurricanes where winds are about two 199 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: hundred miles per hour, And that's why researchers guests that 200 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: the winds had to be greater than that, and I 201 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: think that's so any that they can compare the history 202 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: of of other trees and other wind speeds and figure 203 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:09,839 Speaker 1: out this one from sea, and the casualties here weren't 204 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 1: all on land either. Also of historical note here is 205 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: that the American Revolution was going on at a time 206 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: that this hurricane struck, which meant that plenty of European 207 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: naval forces, both British and French, were concentrated in the Caribbean, 208 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: so thousands of soldiers died as their vessels were damaged, destroyed, 209 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,439 Speaker 1: swept away. Encyclopedia Britannica says something like more than forty 210 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 1: French ships sank in your Martinique alone, And this is 211 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: something I have never heard mentioned when you learn about 212 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: the American Revolution, um, it seems like it had to 213 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: have shaken people up a little bit at least. Okay, 214 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: So the next storm we're going to talk about is 215 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: certainly we're jumping ahead in quite a bit. It's a 216 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: more modern storm, and it's one that I'm think a 217 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: lot of you, especially if you're in the United States, 218 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: have probably heard about before. It has the distinction of 219 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: being known as the greatest natural disaster in US history. Yeah, 220 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: it took place in Galveston, Texas and nineteen hundred and 221 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: is sometimes known simply as the Galveston Storm. Galveston at 222 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: the time was one of the wealthiest cities in America, 223 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: and it was the largest city in Texas and a 224 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: big trade center. Boomtown really located on a barrier island 225 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 1: in the Gulf of Mexico. Galveston had gotten the message 226 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: before that it should do some storm preparation, including maybe 227 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: constructing a sea wall, and they'd seen nearby towns destroyed 228 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: by hurricanes in previous years, but they still didn't make 229 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: any moves to fortify the city prior to nineteen hundred. 230 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: The city got its first inkling that a storm was 231 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: headed its way in early September of that year, and 232 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,679 Speaker 1: what started out as an area of quote unsettled weather 233 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: near the Windward Islands became a tropical storm that moved 234 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: over Cuba and hit Louisiana and Mississippi on the way 235 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: to Exus. So by the time it reached Galveston, though 236 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: in September, it was about a Category four hurricane by 237 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: modern estimates. Again, meteorologists are having to do some backtracking here. 238 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: When it first reached Galveston in the morning, it caused 239 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: some flooding, but it was still sunny out, and according 240 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: to an article by check Lions and History Magazine, most 241 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: locals weren't too concerned about the storm. They'd seen big 242 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: storms before living on the Gulf. They thought they could 243 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: quote ride it out, as sometimes people do in big 244 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: storms like this. But as the day went on, the 245 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 1: wind started to pick up, and it ultimately reached estimated 246 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: speeds of about a hundred and twenty two hundred thirty 247 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: five miles per hour. The highest speed recorded was actually 248 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: one hundred miles per hour, but there's a note there 249 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 1: the wind instrument was destroyed shortly after taking that measurement, 250 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: so we can assume it went quite a bit higher 251 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,200 Speaker 1: than that. The flooding also gotten much worse. The rain 252 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: just kept coming and the tidal surges reached from eight 253 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: to fifteen feet. People started heading up words, trying to 254 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: get to the highest points that they could in their homes, 255 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: but it didn't really help. The surges swept up homes 256 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: from the foundation, and the wind was just throwing trees 257 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: and other objects around, so it was just utter chaos. 258 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: And we should note too that as the Barrier Island Galveston, 259 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: of course, was very low, low to the sea, there 260 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: was no high ground to really get to. According to 261 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: another article by Potter and Weatherwise magazine, the entire southeast 262 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: and west areas of the city were just wiped out 263 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: pretty much. All the houses were just swept away. Most 264 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: other buildings were destroyed too. There were debris everywhere. There 265 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: were bodies alive and dead, trapped under the buildings. Potter 266 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: quotes Isaac Klein, who was in charge of the Galveston 267 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: Weather Bureau office at the time, is saying the site 268 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: the next day was quote one of the most horrible 269 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: sites that ever civilized people looked upon. Anywhere between six 270 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: thousand and twelve thousand people died as a result of 271 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: this hurricane. Estimates usually sort of waiver around I guess 272 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: six thousand, but as many of these storms, as they 273 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: do for many of these storms, we have a huge 274 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: spans of numbers here. Yeah, and the exact number of 275 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: people who died may never be known. People were drowned, 276 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: of course, crushed by debris, and nearly ninety kids in 277 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: a local orphanage were killed just an example of some 278 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: of the people who died in this storm, about thirty 279 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: thousand were left homeless too. Relief came in from other 280 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: areas of the country, but there were so many dead 281 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: bodies had to be burned for weeks after the storm 282 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: because there was just no way to bury them all efficiently. 283 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: Galveston never quite recaptured the prominence that it once had, 284 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: according to lions article, but it did survive and managed 285 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: to rebuild. One of the results of what happened then 286 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: nineteen o two, the city started building a seventeen foot 287 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: sea wall to protect itself, and houses and buildings were 288 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: kind of raised up to that level too, so there's 289 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: more awareness again to keep this from happy. Yeah, Galveston 290 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: really ended up having to almost raise the entire city 291 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: so they'd be a little safer. So we're gonna be 292 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: moving on now to another hurricane. But before we do that, 293 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: we need to discuss the relative merits of coastal living 294 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: in inland living. And I'd say one of the obvious 295 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: perks of living by the coast is that you're near 296 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: the beach, But one of the upsides of living far 297 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: inland is that you're usually spared the full brunt of 298 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: a hurricane plus really terrifying side effects like tsunami's if 299 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: you're if you're in the cyclone territory or storm surges, 300 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: you're not completely off the hook. Though. Unfortunately, in nineteen 301 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: and extremely rare natural disaster occurred. It was a freshwater 302 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 1: storm surge at Lake Okeechobee in south central Florida, which 303 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: is just north of the what we think of the 304 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: Everglades today and forty miles northwest of Palm Beach, and 305 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: that surge plus the effects of the hurricane itself, killed 306 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: up to three thousand people, meaning that it came pretty 307 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: close to Galveston depending on which numbers you're using for 308 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: Galveston as the deadliest storm in US history. In the 309 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: early twentieth century, South Florida underwent a huge development boom. 310 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: Just to give you some background on this area, Areas 311 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: like Palm Beach, which is an Atlantic Barrier island, attracted 312 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,360 Speaker 1: the wealthy, while many of the inland Everglade areas, including 313 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:27,959 Speaker 1: the area around Lake Okeechobee, were drained for agriculture, and 314 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: according to Noah, only about fifty thousand people were living 315 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: in South Florida at the time, so migrant laborers from 316 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: mostly the Bahamas arrived to do the farm work and 317 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 1: set up small towns around the lake. So those are 318 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: two focused areas, really different worlds economically, but both clearly 319 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 1: very vulnerable to weather. One a barrier island, always vulnerable. 320 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: The other small towns with shoddy structures, sitting plumb next 321 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:55,919 Speaker 1: to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country 322 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: that only happened to be about twelve to fifteen feet 323 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: above sea levels. Again according to Noah, the storm we're 324 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: discussing first hit land about September twelfth. Ninety three people 325 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: were killed when it swept over Puerto Rico. From there, 326 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: it moved through the Bahamas and hit the mainland on 327 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 1: September sixte right in Palm Beach County, and the coast 328 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: was really badly damaged by the wind the storm, but 329 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: warnings had allowed many people to evacuate or to take 330 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,719 Speaker 1: cover inland. Though water from the storm caused Lake Okotobe 331 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,400 Speaker 1: to start to pool. You know, we mentioned that it's 332 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: a very large lake, it's also a very shallow lake. 333 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: And finally it broke through this short, inadequate muck levy 334 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: that was meant to protect the settlements to itself and 335 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: the freshwater storm surge then at that point rose about 336 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: twelve feet around the lake, drowning people in the low 337 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: lying area and flooding towns like Belglade, South Bay, and 338 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: Canal Point, as well as other towns. And we mentioned 339 00:18:57,680 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: a minute ago that the death toll could have been 340 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: as high as three thousand, But there have been so 341 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: many recalculations regarding this storm over the years, and I 342 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that there's a lot of discrepancy in many 343 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,680 Speaker 1: of these numbers, and we'll discuss some of the reasons 344 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: for that more later, But for this storm, it seems 345 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 1: like there were some racial politics involved. Different sources from 346 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: immediately after the flood ranged from one thousand dead from 347 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 1: the Miami Herald to two thousand, three hundred dead in 348 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: the Miami Daily News. So let's talk about that for 349 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: a second. Why was there so much confusion and miscalculation? 350 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: According to the American Meteorological Society and Russell post And 351 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 1: estimated three quarters of the dead were field workers, mostly 352 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: non white migratory workers. Many of them were only known 353 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: to even friends by their nicknames. Many of the bodies 354 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: were lost. Post article includes a quote describing how the 355 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 1: surge carried people into the quote sawgrass waste, and the 356 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: search for bodies ended November f because of lack of funds, 357 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: So the mixture of of not being able to actually 358 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 1: locate the bodies and just not knowing who was there 359 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,440 Speaker 1: alive in the first place. Many of the black dead 360 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: and some of the white dead also were buried in 361 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: segregated mass graves. Simultaneous segregated memorial services were held Sunday, 362 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 1: September thirty nine in West Palm Beach. Mary McLeod Bethune 363 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,680 Speaker 1: attended one of the black services. She was a big 364 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 1: civil rights activist and educator at the time. Economically, though, 365 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: the storm was also really damaging. It caused an estimated 366 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: twenty five million dollars in damages, which is now equal 367 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 1: to about sixteen billion dollars if you adjust for wealth, population, 368 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: and inflation. According to Post. It also ended the boom 369 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: of the nineteen twenties South Florida development because only two 370 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: years earlier there had been a similarly large storm that 371 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,160 Speaker 1: had destroyed a lot of Miami, so people buying their 372 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,160 Speaker 1: luxury houses were starting to realize this was a risky 373 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: area to live in, and that's why this one reminds 374 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: me so much of the Galveston storm because it really 375 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: affected the whole trajectory of the of the city and 376 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:17,920 Speaker 1: the area right. Another note here of the literary variety, Okachobe, 377 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,720 Speaker 1: if it rang a bell for you, it might be 378 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: from readings or Neil Hurston's Their eyes were watching God. 379 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: Not to give anything away, but it's a major plot 380 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: device between the heroine and the character Teacake. Florrety and 381 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,159 Speaker 1: Hurston hadn't been in the state during the storm, but 382 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: according to Valerie Boyd, she combined her interviews with survivors 383 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,959 Speaker 1: plus her own experience in a storm in the Bahamas 384 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: to create a realistic scene. And I have to say, 385 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: it's probably been about ten or so years since I 386 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: read that book, but I can remember the storm scene. 387 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: So our final storm for this list is the Bull 388 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: Cyclone of nineteen seventy and many of the storms we've 389 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: discussed so far have been truly extraordinary storms, truly large storms. 390 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: The Bull of cyclone, though, could have been just an 391 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: average or maybe even under the right circumstances, a mild 392 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: storm had it not hit where it did and had 393 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: it not hit when it did. As it worked out, 394 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: though the storm, which is also called the Ganges Brahmaputra 395 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 1: Delta cyclone, became one of the deadliest, if not the 396 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: deadliest tropical cyclone on record. It's also one of the 397 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: world's worst natural disasters. The storm formed over the Bay 398 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,199 Speaker 1: of Bengal November eighth nine, and this was after the 399 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: traditional season's end, so most people weren't even expecting more 400 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,919 Speaker 1: storms and we're already kind of at max flood capacity 401 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: for the year. It was also headed for the Ganges Delta, 402 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: which was then a part of East Pakistan and one 403 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: of the flattest, most flood prone regions of the world. 404 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: Flooding is expected. It's what delivers the rich sediment that 405 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: makes the soil so fertile, but it also makes the 406 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,400 Speaker 1: land unstable since many rivers criss crossed the region. Yeah, 407 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: for instance, many structures are built on these small seedtiment 408 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: made islands that only last a few years. You know, 409 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: the sediment washes away new islands form, so understandably, building 410 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: temporary structures like this, you don't build really solid ones, 411 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: really sturdy buildings and houses. But because the soil in 412 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,439 Speaker 1: this region is so rich from all that sediment, the 413 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,399 Speaker 1: Delta is also one of the most densely populated areas 414 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,679 Speaker 1: of the world, really comparable to the Netherlands, which is 415 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: I think Europe's most populated country or densely populated rather 416 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: um According to Benjamin Riley in Disaster and Human History 417 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: Case Studies in Nature, Society and Catastrophe, in the decade 418 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 1: before the flood, the population in this Delta region had 419 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: increased by about thirty percent, meaning that farmers were already 420 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: having to push further into the mangrove forest buffer by 421 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: the coast in order to eke out a living. And 422 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,679 Speaker 1: it also meant that the population was really young. There 423 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: were a lot of very young children and at the time, 424 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: so already there's this out of season storm and it 425 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: was the sixth of the season, and it's in a 426 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: flood prone area with a dense population living in mostly 427 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,160 Speaker 1: temporary housing. So just to set the scene right there, 428 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: and the storm made landfall as a category three cyclone 429 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 1: with a peak speed of one d and fifteen miles 430 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: per hour. It hit right at high tide on a 431 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: full moon night when people were sleeping. Many of the 432 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: migrant workers who had arrived for rice harvests were sleeping outside. 433 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: The storm surge created by the cyclone reached about nineteen feet, 434 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: wiping out everything that it hit. Since there wasn't high ground, 435 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: people climb trees only to find themselves surrounded by snakes. 436 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: And there's a really odd story. I mean, i'd say 437 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: take it with a grain of thought, but it's mentioned 438 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: by Riley. He discusses a Mrs Kareem who credited a 439 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: constrictor with saving her life. So most people, I'm sure 440 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: if you found yourself suddenly in the tree with lots 441 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,679 Speaker 1: of snakes, that would be it. But she remembers uh, 442 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: losing consciousness, but at that moment being wrapped up by 443 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 1: a constrictor who was really just trying to cling to 444 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:16,920 Speaker 1: anything on the tree, and it ended up saving her 445 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: life and the life of her newborn child. So kind 446 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 1: of a wild storm story there, but I guess you 447 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,200 Speaker 1: never know what what can happen in in incidents like these. 448 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: The death toll, though, was initially estimated to be at 449 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: about two hundred thousand, but it could have been as 450 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: high as five hundred thousand. And again, just like we 451 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: discussed with the Okeechobee hurricane, there are a lot of 452 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: reasons for why there's so much discrepancy here and again 453 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: one is that there were probably a lot of migrant 454 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 1: workers among the dead, and nobody knew who was there, 455 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,919 Speaker 1: and nobody knew who they were. Plus undocumented residents, you know, 456 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,200 Speaker 1: just people who hadn't registered in any sort of way. 457 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: And we mentioned this earlier, lots of young chill dren, 458 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 1: so maybe they weren't even on the books yet. After 459 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: the storm, hundreds of thousands of people were left without food, 460 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: and since it had almost been harvest time, there were 461 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: no stores of anything either. Agricultural equipment had been washed away, 462 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: salt water had inundated farmland, livestock had drowned, The fishing 463 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: industry was destroyed, and drinking water was contaminated and people 464 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: contracted cholera from that. Many people were injured too, after 465 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: such a traumatic survival situation. They had broken bones, they 466 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:33,679 Speaker 1: had abrasions on their arms and their chests and thighs, uh, 467 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: something that relief workers Alfred Summer and w. Henry Moseley 468 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: called quote cyclone syndrome or quote the grim evidence of 469 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: the tenacity with which the survivors had clung to the 470 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: trees to withstand the buffeting of the waves. So um 471 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: just tearing yourself up trying to save your life during 472 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,919 Speaker 1: the storm search. Then despite all of these problems, you know, 473 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: despite the starvation and the injuries, the government wasn't able 474 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: to respond for ten days, which was something that ultimately 475 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:08,160 Speaker 1: heightened tensions between East Pakistan and West Pakistan, and much 476 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: of the relief ultimately ended up coming from India and 477 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,920 Speaker 1: the United States and later Great Britain and China, which 478 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: sent rice supplies for the people. So when an already 479 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: scheduled December election rolled around, a lot of new opposition 480 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: politicians ended up being elected, and ultimately, after a civil war, 481 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh, and one 482 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: of its earliest goals, understandably after all of this, was 483 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,399 Speaker 1: to set up better storm surge alert so that people 484 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,439 Speaker 1: could be more prepared for for something like this happening. Again, 485 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,479 Speaker 1: just a side note here, Hassan Mushriqui, a professor at 486 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: l s U, got a map of Bangladesh from his 487 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,159 Speaker 1: father in law. He scanned the map for part of 488 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,720 Speaker 1: his work predicting storm surges in the Gulf of Mexico. 489 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: Since he wanted to work on developing similar models for Bangladesh, 490 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: he ended up creating an early warning system, which was 491 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: test it in two thousand seven when much freekly noted 492 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: a huge cyclone forming in the Bay of Bengal. The 493 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: way he went about spreading those warnings though it sounds 494 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: so round about, it's amazing that that it actually worked, 495 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,800 Speaker 1: but he began communicating once he noticed this huge storm forming, 496 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,359 Speaker 1: began communicating with the U. S. Navy to find out 497 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,399 Speaker 1: how much the government um in the in the area 498 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 1: knew about what was going on, what kind of warnings 499 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: were already in place, And when he realized from family 500 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: that the storm wasn't really being treated very seriously, he 501 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: got in touch with a food and disaster official in 502 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:36,439 Speaker 1: Bangladesh via his l s U freshman son and began 503 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: sharing information. Began tracking the storm, and many people were 504 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: successfully evacuated from the areas identified as most at risk, 505 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,120 Speaker 1: and he also helped retroactively target rescue efforts. Here's where 506 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 1: the storm went, Here's where you need to go. More 507 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,960 Speaker 1: than three thousand people still died, which sounds like a 508 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: huge number, but it was far fewer than a lot 509 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: of the earlier cyclones, including of course the bullet cyclone 510 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: that we already talked about So I guess that's promising 511 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: that and most of these stories we've seen some sort 512 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: of progress technology upgrade, whether it is building a wall, 513 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: you know, acknowledging the fact that your city is in 514 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: pretty serious danger, or uh, having some sort of software, 515 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: having an early warning system in place? Can you save 516 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: lots of lives? Yeah, and just that awareness that people have, 517 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: I mean it's sad. I thinking it seriously, yeah, taking 518 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,600 Speaker 1: it seriously, not thinking that you're going to write it out. 519 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: I mean I lived on the Gulf Coast for a while, 520 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: and so I can relate to that idea that so 521 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: many people just get numb to the experience that they 522 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: just think they can, you know, they can hang out 523 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: during the storm. They're like, we've been through this before, 524 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: going through false evacuations, evacuations that come to nothing but 525 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: better safement. Sorry, Definitely, it's funny too. We all kind 526 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: of have our own sort of storm stories. I don't 527 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: know if you have any that you remember, Sarah, maybe 528 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:04,520 Speaker 1: tornado knows that you have hunkered down through or Yeah. 529 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: I remember being a very little kid and there being 530 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 1: a tornado in Atlanta and I was at ballet class. 531 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 1: I was probably about three or four, and I remember 532 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: all the little kids getting taken to the basement and 533 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: we had a very hungry caterpillar read to us. Was 534 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: my my biggest scary storm memory, I think, which is 535 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 1: pretty good. Storm. Yeah. I remember when I was living 536 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 1: in Mobile, I had to I think this was night 537 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: we had to evacuate when George came and I had 538 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: a kind of beat up Toyota Pisseo that I drove 539 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 1: at the time, and I remember driving up state to 540 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 1: where my parents live and just kind of blowing all 541 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 1: over the road and for the first time because I 542 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: like little cars, but I was thinking, I really wish 543 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: I had like one of those big yes, something really 544 00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: heavy to kind of anchor me down. Thank you so 545 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 1: much for joining us on this Saturday. If you have 546 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 1: heard an email address or a Facebook you are l 547 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: or something similar over the course of today's episode, since 548 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 1: it is from the archive that might be out of 549 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: date now, you can email us at History Podcast at 550 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com, and you can find us 551 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: all over social media at missed in History. And you 552 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: can subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, 553 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen 554 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 1: to podcasts. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 555 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 1: visit how stuff works dot com.