Posted on 09/20/2005 7:09:13 AM PDT by WestTexasWend
Notable hurricanes that have affected Texas since 1900, with death and damage totals for Texas only. (The National Weather Service did not start naming storms until the 1950s.)
• July 20, 2005: Emily, storm packing 125 mph winds hit near San Fernando, Mexico, a coastal town about 85 miles south of Brownsville. Minimal damage reported in South Padre and Port Isabel. No deaths or serious injuries. Scattered power outages.
• July 15, 2003: Claudette, Matagorda Bay-Victoria; two inland deaths, $180 million in damage across central Texas coast from winds peaking near 100 mph.
• Aug. 22, 1999: Bret, Kenedy County; four highway deaths in Laredo, scattered damage as storm with 140 mph winds moved into sparsely populated region.
• Sept. 16-18, 1988: Gilbert, 125 miles south of Brownsville; one dead in San Antonio; tornado and wind damage of $5 million in Brownsville, Del Rio and San Antonio.
• Aug. 18, 1983: Alicia, Galveston-Houston; 21 dead, more than $2 billion damage; 22 tornadoes, winds 130 mph. Last major hurricane to strike Texas.
• Aug. 9, 1980: Allen, lower coast; two dead, $55 million damage; winds 185 mph.
• Sept. 3-12, 1971: Fern, middle coast; two dead, $30.2 million damage.
• Aug. 3, 1970: Celia, Corpus Christi; 11 dead, $50 million damage; wind gusts to 160 mph.
• Sept. 18-23, 1967: Beulah, Brownsville; 13 dead, $150 million damage.
• Sept. 11-13, 1961: Carla, Port O'Connor-Galveston-Houston; 34 dead, $300 million damage; wind gusts estimated at 175 mph, storm tide 18.5 feet at Port Lavaca.
• June 27, 1957: Audrey, Sabine Pass; 10 dead, $8 million damage.
• Oct. 3-4, 1949: Freeport-Houston; two dead, $6.5 million damage; wind gusts estimated at 135 mph; storm tide 11.5 feet at Freeport.
• Aug. 25-29, 1945: Port O'Connor; three dead, $20.1 million damage; wind gusts estimated at 135 mph; storm tide 15 feet at Port Lavaca.
• July 27, 1943: Galveston Bay-Houston; 19 dead, $16.6 million damage.
• Aug. 29-31, 1942: Matagorda Bay; eight dead; $26.5 million damage; winds 115 mph, storm tide 14.7 feet at Matagorda.
• Sept. 23, 1941: Texas City; four dead, $6.5 million damage.
• July 25, 1934: Seadrift; 19 dead, $4.5 million damage.
• Sept. 4-5, 1933: Brownsville; 40 dead, $16.9 million damage.
• Aug. 13-14, 1932; Velasco (Freeport); 40 dead, $7.5 million damage.
• Sept. 14, 1919: South of Corpus Christi; 284 dead, $20.3 million damage; winds 110 mph, storm tide 16 feet.
• Aug. 18-19, 1916: Corpus Christi; 20 dead, $1.6 million damage.
• Aug. 16-19, 1915: Galveston; 375 dead, damage over $56 million. Most losses ($50 million) to crops; storm tide 16.1 feet.
• July 21-22, 1909: Velasco (Freeport); 41 dead, damage at least $2 million.
• Sept. 8-10, 1900: Galveston; 6,000-12,000 dead; damage $30 million to $40 million (around $800 million in today's dollars); Storm surge 15-20 feet, winds estimated at 120 mph; Deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
1990 - Hurricane Ann Richards - Millions in damage. Fatal to the Texas Democrat Party.
If I was George Bush here is what I would do
I would order a mandatory evac for the gulf coast
I would order all poor to evacuate to hi ground
I would personally take a bus and have Condoleeza Rice drive one, and Rumsfeld drive one and Rove drive one and I would load them up with poor African Americans and drive them out of the area. I would say "No whites allowed"
on a sign on the bus.
The development of Rockport has just been ridiculous. Property values have gone through the roof. That's some exposed coastline, no seawall, no nothing other than the barrier island.
My theory is the barrier islands on the US gulf coast are the effect over time of hurricanes tearing at the mainland. The bays are flooded land that never dried out. Over geological time. A good hint that NO and S Fla might be prone to hurricanes are what I will call a couple of hurricane lakes, Okechobee and Ponchatrain. brackish water is the result of periodic infusions of salt water overland.
When you go to Grand Cayman you will see these "stagnant" ponds in the middle of the island. They will have in them giant 7 foot Tarpon. After last summer and Ivan I understand how the tarpon get there. Ivan put Cayman entirely under water for a short period of time. that's how the tarpon get in the landlocked lakes.
The King ranch needed the rain anyway.
This one killed my great-grandfather. He was the conductor on a train running from Galveston Island to the mainland and they were trying to evacuate the women and children to higher ground around Houston, but they were caught out on the causeway by the storm surge and the train was knocked off the tracks. The other men took off running, but my great-grandfather stayed behind to try and rescue as many women and children as possible. He tied a rope to each of them (there were about twenty passengers on board) and then tied it around his chest and headed toward land. He was around 6' 8" tall and people on shore reported that when they saw him the water was up to his armpits. He collapsed about twenty feet from shore and drowned before anyone could get to him.
This one spawned at least five twisters in the Austin-San Marcos area. One of them came within about a hundred yards of a church that was filled with worshipers at the time (that same twister went on to damage two or three buildings at Austin's Mueller airport). Happily, no deaths.
Just curious. How does a hurricane hit Texas City and not Galveston or Houston?
LOL...yeah, no way to miss Galveston and hit Texas City. Like threadin' a needle. And anything that hits either of those two will logically impact Houston.
Who knows? Maybe the Galveston Chamber of Commerce didn't want their city on the hurricane Greatest Hits list again.
They used the boy scouts in Corpus Christi to search for bodies after the 1919 hurricane.
When I was a kid we used to go to Rockport for vacation. I had the best time there. I would love to go back and see it.
I haven't been there in 20 years.
I was 13 when Audrey hit and living in SW Louisiana about 35 miles from the coast near Lake Charles. I took my first plane ride the day after Audrey hit in my uncle's small sea plane. We flew over the coast and saw many people riding on the roofs of their homes as they floated in the rivers and bayous. We also saw many dead bloated bodies washed up on some high spots. Most were adults although some were small children. I'll never forget that experience.
Holly Beach in Cameron Parish was "ground zero" for Audrey and there was nothing left except concrete slabs.
Over 500 people died in Audrey in a very sparsely populated area of Louisiana.
The problem was we all went to bed after being told that Audrey would not make landfall until midday the next day and would probably hit somewhere between Port Neches and Galveston. The storm sped up and turn directly north during the night. The people of Cameron never knew what hit them.
How awful that your first flight was to witness such death and devastation. It must have seemed like a nightmare.
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