The Great Storm
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” [Revelation 15:1]
The deadliest natural disaster in American history occurred just 300 miles west of New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina came ashore in 2005. The unnamed category 4 hurricane struck over a century ago on September 8, 1900, ripping into Galveston, Texas, killing somewhere between 6,000 and 12,000 men, women, and children and wiping away three-quarters of the city.
However, the fatal storm did not come without warning. People in Galveston knew that there was a major storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. Days before the hurricane reached Texas, Galveston received telegraph reports telling of a fierce storm that caused havoc in the Caribbean. One day before the hurricane arrived barometric pressure dropped rapidly, and warning flags were raised as huge waves pounded the shore. But less than half the population evacuated the island, and some sightseers even came over from Houston to view the powerful surf. People’s attitude of complacency greatly increased the number of fatalities. Wind speeds measured 100 mph before the instruments were blown away. The winds would eventually reach 150 mph.
One of the first buildings to succumb to the storm was St. Mary’s Orphanage that stood near the beach. Of the 93 children and 10 nuns, the only survivors were three boys who managed to cling to an uprooted tree. About 50 people sought shelter in the home of Isaac Cline. Battered by the heavy winds and a 16-foot tidal wave, it collapsed, and all but 18 perished, including Isaac Cline’s wife, May. Strangely, Isaac Cline worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau and had dismissed concerns that a hurricane could someday devastate Galveston. He discouraged the town from building a sea wall. One in six Galveston residents died in the disaster. A few months after the hurricane, Galveston began construction on a 17-foothigh, 3-mile-long sea wall and raised the ground level of the entire city.
Did you know that the Bible forecasts a terrible storm just before the coming of Jesus, concluding with a great rescue from above? Like the unheeded flags that were raised on the Galveston beach to warn of the coming storm, we must be responsible to be prepared. God has given us many signs of the times. Will you listen to His counsel to watch and be ready?
