With hurricane Harvey increasing in strength as it nears the Texas coast, a lot of people are wondering if the Seawall will protect Galveston Island.
The residents & business owners in Galveston are hoping it does!
The Seawall was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1902 after the most deadly hurricane in United States’ history struck the area in September of 1900. With a record loss of somewhere between 6000 & 11,000 lives and the complete destruction of over 3600 homes, it caught the coast of Texas off guard. The storm was considered a category 4. At one point Galveston Texas was under 15′ of sea water.
The Seawall was constructed 17′ high and the base was made 16′ wide and tapered at top. The first Seawall was only about 3.3 miles long. Over the next 60 years, it was extended to more than 10 miles long.
Although the Seawall in Galveston was built as functional protection from storm surge, it also has provided recreational enjoyment. Visitors and tourist have long enjoyed walking the length of the Seawall, parking on it to access the beach, and fishing from its rocky bottom.
Since the historical event in 1900, Galveston has survived several other natural disasters.
- June 26, 1902 – Tropical storm smacked Galveston bringing a twister that knocked a freight train off its tracks.
- July 21, 1908 – Tropical storm came inland and derailed many train cars. Storm swells were at 10′ but the Seawall held tight. No lives were lost behind the Seawall, but 5 fatalities were reported on the outside
- August 27, 1909 – Storm surge was only 3′ and the Seawall held.
- June 27, 1913 – Tropical storm surge created 12.7′ waves. The Seawall saved Galveston.
- August 16, 1915 – This storm was rumoured to have been a rival to the Great Tropical Storm of 1900. This time the 12′ storm surge came over the Seawall. The downtown area swam in 5-6′ of sea water. All beach front bath houses were washed away. There were 12 fatalities and 1 of which was behind the Seawall.
- September 14, 1919 – Sea swells at 8′ 8″…this storm wrecked Corpus Christi harder than Galveston.
- August 14, 1932 – The Seawall saved Galveston from another tropical storm.
- 1933 – This year saw 5 tropical storms in the gulf.
- September 23, 1941 – Galveston measured 7′ tides and all rice crops were ruined.
- August 29, 1942 – Over 50,000 people stumbled over each other to flee Galveston as this storm approached due to a hurricane that struck just 8 days before. Galveston survived.
- July 27, 1943 – Big hurricane! Winds of over 100 mph knocked brick buildings over and churches collapsed. Northerly winds across Galveston’s bay kept tides low. Storm surge was 6′ feet. There were 11 casualties. Galveston survived.
- August 24, 1947 – Hurricane with sea water storm surge of less than 4′.
- October 3, 1949 – Tropical storm was mild for Galveston only moderately damaging streets.
In 1950, the US military began naming storms and hurricanes. By 1954 the public was beginning to be made aware of storm names. There have been a great number of storms affect Galveston since 1950. Rather than listing them all for you I recommend you go here to further your research. It’s where a lot of my data came from on the historical storms listed in this article.
So, after all this time, will the Seawall protect Galveston? Hurricane Harvey was just upgraded to a category 4 hurricane. Please keep Texas in your prayers!
I’ve been praying for everyone in Texas during this disaster. I have family in Texas and have been talking to them constantly to make sure they are safe at all times.
Me too. Communication has been difficult. 🙁
So so so scary that this is happening. I have friends and family in Texas so I’ve been thinking about the whole area a lot lately. My thoughts and prayers are with EVERYONE affected by this weather.
Mine too. It’s not over yet so keep everyone in your prayers.
Thank you for educating us. I am hoping and wishing everyone in Texas the best!
Me to Mad Mommy!
This is very scary for Texas. There is not any detection mean?
There are detections & warns in place now, but prior to WWII it just wasn’t as advanced.
Wow! I had no idea there had been that many storms in that area. My sister just moved down there, so she feels very welcomed 😛
Oh dear 😱 that a special kind of welcome!
Wishing you safety, batteries, and popcorn.
Thanks Lorna!!
I am honestly surprised how much Galveston has been through.Hope everything is fine in the end.
I am praying for all the people in Texas. Heard about the hurricane about to hit land on the news yesterday.
Keep praying!
It’s hard to see all that Galveston has been through. I’m sure the island will survive another one.
Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed!
You all in Texas will be in my prayers. I reall hope seawall help Galveston from hurricane Harvey.
Thank you for sharing all this information about seawall, i was really not aware of this.
No problem
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.jsI read the historical memoir of the 1900 hurricane by Erik Larson called Isaac’s Storm and what a deal. So sad and heartbreaking. I sure hope the wall holds.
So far so good, but they aren’t out of the woods yet.
Looking back from all of the storms and hurricane that went through Galveston I’m glad that it’s still holding up well. Hope that Hurricane Harvey will pass by quickly and that all of you will be safe from harm.
Thanks Angela 😀
Watching the news live this morning. I don’t think the seawall is going to be the issue, it’s going to be the amount of rain!
I agree. So much of the state is actually very flat and when there’s this much excessive rainfall it creates a flooding scenario that could be devastating.
It is scary how big these storms can be, I hope everyone stays safe against upcoming storms wherever they are.
Thank you Sarah
Hope you ride out the storm safely! Hurricanes are no joke! I’m from the gulf coast and I’ve been through more than my share for sure. Stay safe!
Where abouts?
I never considered the rocks as a wall. I always see them and think of how pretty they are; like decoration. Lol! Learned something today. Hope that you all will be safe during the storm.
We were safe 😀
Hopes and prayers are with all of those in Harvey’s path. The images are frightening.
Agreed! Weather can be so unpredictable.
Category 4 let’s just stay in prayer. I’m hope the seawall will hold, but I’m far from certain.
It appears so far the Seawall gas saved much of Galveston, but some of the others towns were not as lucky 😞
This sounds so scary.It is good to keep attention for alerts and be ready with emergency plans.But sometimes,it is not easy to face such situations.Hope everything will go well!
Me too. Praying for all Texans!
I never think of the coast of Texas, just the inland parts I would see on TV or in the movies. Hope Galveston survived the hurricane, it sounds like an interesting place.
It’s (Texas) home to more thay 26 million people 😀
So scary! I hope it doesn’t hit Galveston hard and that the wall holds. It’s amazing what we can do to protect ourselves but it’s insane what the weather can still do to us.
True!
I did not know why they named the hurricanes, it’s good to know the history associated with this. Any city in the face of a hurricane would have to be prepared and people need to be educated. I am sure they have done all that. I will definitely pray for the safety of Texas.
Thank you dear 😀
It’s scary to think about this. We are not sure what will happen in the future but I will always keep Texas in my prayers.
Sounds scary. Keeping you all in my prayers and hope everyone stays safe!
People in this storm’s path need to follow instructions and get out of the way. Homes and property can be rebuilt, but lives are irreplaceable.
This is true but not practical for everyone. Many of the elderly have mobility issues. They were left behind so others stayed to protect them.
Those storms are scary. All that water would freak me out too
There are reports of people having problems that stayed behind with the elderly that couldn’t be evacuated!
Gosh, thinking about it alone makes me scared. I hope everyone is safe.
Me too Alice 🙁
I have heard a lot about this lately. I am honestly surprised how much Galveston has been through. Hope everything is fine in the end.
Mr too Jacqui
This is very frightening for Texas and it’s sad that more hasn’t been done to shore this up over the years.
I agree Maria!
So scary!
Yes 🙁