ATDTDA (7): 186-188 plotline

[David Morris]

On 4/16/07, Peter Petto <ppetto at apk.net> wrote:
> The N's convince Lew to stow away with some cute jokey repartee -- which is very lucky because a 135 mph hurricane devastates the town and takes out 6000 people the day after they're gone, which gives Lew the shivers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900

"The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on the city of
Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. It had estimated winds of 135
miles per hour (215 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale."

"The hurricane caused great loss of life. The death toll has been
estimated to be between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals."

"The city of Galveston at the end of the 19th century was a booming
metropolis with a population of 42,000. Its position on the natural
harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of
trade and the biggest city in the state of Texas. "

"At the time of the 1900 storm, the highest point in the city of
Galveston was only 8.7 feet (2.7 m) above sea level. The hurricane had
brought with it a storm surge of over 15 feet (4.6 m), which washed
over the entire island. The surge knocked buildings off their
foundations, and the surf pounded them to pieces. Over 3,600 homes
were destroyed, and a wall of debris faced the ocean."

"The bodies were so numerous that burial was not a viable option.
Initially, the dead were taken out to sea and dumped; however, the
currents of the gulf washed the bodies back onto the beach, so a new
solution was needed. Funeral pyres were set up wherever the dead were
found. In the aftermath of the storm, pyres burned for weeks.
Authorities had to pass out free whiskey to the work crews that were
having to throw the bodies of their wives and children on the burn
piles."

"More people were killed in this single storm than have been killed in
the over three hundred hurricanes that have struck the United States
since, combined, as of 2006. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the
deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history."