1915 — Aug 16-17, 19-20, Hurricane/trop. storm, Gulf, SE TX coast, remnant, MO -453-510

lornajarrettblanchard August 16, 1915

— 525 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.
— 510 Blanchard high estimate of fatalities based on Maritime and Texas locality notes below.*
— 453 Blanchard low estimate of fatalities based on Maritime and Texas locality notes below.
— 275 Bedient and Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms…” 2012, p. 8.
— 275 Blake, et al. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense US Cyclones…, April 2007, p. 7.
— 275 Douglas. Hurricane. 1958, p. 257.
— 275 Dunn and Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). 1964, p. 323.
— 275 Elsner and Kara. Hurricanes of the North Atlantic. 1999, p. 382 (Table 17.2) [Texas]
— 275 Gunn. Encyclopedia of Disasters. Chapter 68, “Texas hurricane.” 2007.
— 275 Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Hurricanes… Feb 1993, p. 80.
— 275 Jarrell, Mayfield, Rappaport, Landsea. The Deadliest US Hurricanes, 1900-2000. 2001
–~275 Landsea. “A Reanalysis…1911-20 Atlantic Hurricane Database.” Climate, V21, 2008.
— 275 NWS WFO Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years…[SE TX]Weather (1900-2000).
— 275 Roth, David (NWS). Texas Hurricane History. Jan 17, 2010 update, p. 9.
— 275 Sav. Natural Disasters. 1974, p. 8.
— 275 Wolshon. National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies. 2001, p. 206.
— 234 Mansfield News (OH). “Death Toll May Pass Two Hundred,” Aug 19, 1915, p. 1.
— 230 Daily Advocate (Victoria, TX). “Death List May Total 230,” Aug 15, 1915, p. 1.
–~200 Wickware. The American Year Book: A Record of Events…Progress, 1915. 1916, 800.
— 115 Information Annual 1915: A Continuous Cyclopedia and Digest of Current Events. 551.
–>100 Daily Advocate (Victoria, TX). “The Storm Cost TX Thirty Million…,” 8-19-1915, 1.

* Our impression is that the sources which note 275 fatalities did not include the maritime and riverine losses, not the ten St. Louis drowning deaths from hurricane remnant flooding there.

Summary of Fatalities

Maritime (Gulf and TX Coastal and Riverine) (158-191)
–87-98 Gulf (Steamer Marowijne)
–30-50 Dredge Sam Houston
— 09 Schooner/Smack Mary E. Silveria
— 15 Tug Helen Henderson
–17-19 U.S. Dredger San Bernard/Bernardo
Texas Mainland – Islands and Inland (285-309)
St. Louis, Missouri, Aug 20 ( 10)
453-510

Maritime, Gulf of Mexico: (87-98)

United Fruit Company Steamer Marowijne (87-98)
— 98 Journal of the Missouri State Medical Assn. (Vol. 12). “Obituary,” Nov. 1915, p. 502.
— 96 Popular Mechanics Magazine. “Mysteries of the Sea,” Vol. 46, No. 1, July 1926, p. 8.
— 93 Boston Daily Globe. “No Trace of Marowijne…week overdue…93 Aboard,” 8-24-1915.
— 87 Aug 13, Steamer Marowijne departs Belize, sinks in Gulf of Mexico. (Berman 1972, 180)

Texas Maritime –Coastal and Riverine (71-93)

North Amer. Dredging Co. Dredge Sam Houston (30-50)
— 50 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 190.
— 50 Salt Lake Tribune. “101 Are Known…Lost…in Flood.” 8-20-1915.
— 30 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.

Gulf Fisheries Co. Schooner/Smack Mary E. Silveria ( 9)
— 9 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 180.

Tug Helen Henderson ( 15)
— 15 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.

United States Dredge boat San Bernard/Bernardo (17-19)
— 30 Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “30 Lives Lost on U.S. Dredgeboat in Gulf Storms.” 8-20-1915.
— 19 Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Special to the Constitution.” Aug 21, 1915.
— 17 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.

Texas Mainland – Islands and Inland (285-309)
–309 Blanchard high estimate based on localities below.
–285 Blanchard low estimate based on localities below.
–256 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, p. 1.
–121 Washington Post. “121 Known Texans Dead.” Aug 20, 1915, p. 5.
–116 AP. “Texas Storm…New Lease of Life…Moves Toward Lower Great Lakes.” 8-20-1915.
–101 Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “101 Are Known to Have Lost Lives in Flood.” Aug 20, 1915, 2.

— 1 Alvin. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 5 Anahuac. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 3 Beaumont. Roth, David (NWS). Texas Hurricane History. Jan 17, 2010 update, p.35.
— 38 Bolivar Peninsula. Galveston News. “Bolivar Peninsula inundated by water.” 8-23-1915, 1
— 2 Cedar Bayou. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 5 Chambers Co. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1
— 1 Dickinson. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 3 Double Bayou. Galveston Daily News. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 1 Freeport. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 48 Galveston (island) Galveston Daily News, TX. “More Bodies Given Burial.” 8-24-1915, 1.
— 8 Galveston city. Galveston News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 3 “ “ Galveston News TX. “Three More Bodies…Found.” 8-25-1915, 1.
— 12 Hitchcock. Galveston News. “Storm Damage at Hitchcock: Twelve Lives Lost.” 8-24-1915.
–3-4 Houston Blanchard tally from sources below.
–4 “ Salt Lake Tribune. “101 Are Known to Have Lost Lives in Flood.” 8-20-1915.
–3 “ Galveston News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, p. 1.
— 3 Jennings Landing. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead…Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 7 Laporte. Daily Advocate, Victoria TX. “The Storm Cost TX Thirty Mil.…,” 8-19-1915.
— 6 Lynchburg. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
–7-8 Morgans Point. Blanchard range from two sources below.
–8 “ San Antonio Light. “Morgan’s Point Reports Eight Dead,” 8/18/1915, 2.
–7 “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 5 Moss Bluff Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 1 Orange. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 2 Oyster Bayou. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 8 Pelican Island. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
–2-5 Port Arthur. Blanchard range based on sources below.
–5 “ Salt Lake Tribune. “101…Known to Have Lost Lives…” 8-20-1915.
–4 “ Daily Advocate, Victoria TX. “The storm cost Tx thirty mil…,” 8-19-1915.
–2 “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 5 Rollover Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 6 Sabine Pass. Roth, David/NWS. Texas Hurricane History. Jan 17, 2010 update, p. 35.
— 1 San Jacinto battleground. Galveston News. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 3 San Leon. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 1 San Luis C.G. Station, Galveston. Trenton Times, NJ. “Life Loss…Storm.” 8-21-1915.
— 1 Saratoga Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 4 Seabrook. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 1 Sour Lake. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
–24 Surfside. Galveston News. “Water Still Absent From City Mains…” 8-23-1915, 1.
— 3 Sylvan Beach. Daily Advocate, Victoria TX. “The storm cost Tx thirty mil…,” 8-19-1915
–25-32 Texas City. Blanchard range based on sources below.
–32 “ Salt Lake Tribune. “101…Known to Have Lost Lives in…” 8-20-1915.
–25 “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 9 Texas City Channel Dike. Galveston News. “Nine Additional Bodies Found.” 8-23-1915.
–15-30 Virginia Pt. Blanchard range based on sources below.
–30 “ Daily Advocate, Victoria TX. “The storm cost…thirty million…,” 8-19-1915.
–15 “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
–18 Wallisville. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.
— 6 Other scattered beaches. Salt Lake Tribune. “101…Known…Lost…Flood.” 8-20-1915.

Texas Total – Islands, Mainland, Maritime (356-402)
— 71-93 Texas Maritime –Coastal and Riverine.
–285-309 Texas Mainland – Islands and Inland.

St. Louis, Missouri, Aug 20 ( 10)
— 10 Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Recover 10 Bodies in St. Louis Flood.” 8-21-1915, p. 1.
— 10 Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Recovering Bodies in St. Louis Flood.” 8-21-1915, 11.

Gulf of Mexico

Lettens: “On August 14th, 1915, the American steel cargo MAROWIJNE was last seen at Belize, 50 miles north of Contoy Island for New Orleans with a cargo of fruit and general, and went missing. She was not heard of ever since. The only thing ever found of the ship was one life preserver. The Marowijne was most probably lost in the 1915 Galveston Hurricane (5-aug ~17 aug), that originated in Cabo Verde, hit the Leeward Islands, passed south of Puerto Rico, Dominican, Haiti, Jamaica, went through the Yucatan Channel and struck Galveston.” (Lettens, Jan. SS Marowijne (+1915). Wrecksite.eu.)

NYT: “New Orleans, Aug. 30….The first positive evidence of the destruction of the Marowijne was brought to New Orleans tonight in the form of wreckage picked up in the Gulf of Mexico nearly 200 miles north of the Yucatan coast by the Suriname, sister ship of the Marowijne. Partial identification of bits of the wreckage was made upon the arrival of the Suriname in New Orleans. The Suriname sighted the wreckage at 11 o’clock Sunday morning 185 miles due north of Progreso, indicating that the Marowijne sank in the middle of the Gulf.” (NYT. “Marowijne Search Fails,” Aug 31, 1915.)

Popular Mechanics: “In that same year [1915] the ‘Marowijne’ sailed away from the coast of Yucatan, on August 13, on her thirteenth voyage….One day out, and the ‘Marowijne’ was spoken by another ship…. Ninety-six souls aboard, including twenty-eight passengers, went down with the ship.” (Popular Mechanics Magazine. “Mysteries of the Sea,” Vol. 46, No. 1, July 1926, p. 8.)

Texas — General

Douglas: “The business district of Galveston had five or six feet of water, rain and seepage from a tide twelve feet above normal. But this time only 275 people died. The great sea wall held.” (Douglas 1958, 257)

Landsea: “During the period of 1911–20, the first very destructive hurricane to strike the continental United States was storm 2, 1915, which hit the north Texas coast near Galveston, killed about 275 people, and would cause on the order of $71 billion in total damages if the same system made landfall today (Blake et al. 2007). This TC [tropical cyclone] was originally listed as a category 4 for the north Texas coast with a 945-mb central pressure at landfall. The revised central pressure of a deeper 940 mb along with a large RMW [radius of maximum wind] of 25 n mi suggests winds of about 115 kt, which supports a category 4 status.” (Landsea. “A Reanalysis…1911-20 Atlantic Hurricane Database.” Climate, V21, 2008, 21.)

NWS: “5. Galveston Hurricane of 1915 – August 17, 1915

• 275 persons killed
• Over $50 million dollars in property damage [not adjusted for inflation]
• The first major hurricane since the construction of the Galveston seawall
• Sustained winds of 120 mph produced a 16 foot storm surge.”

(National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX: NWS, 12-20-2009 mod.)

Texas — Chronological

Aug 18: “Morgan’s Point, Tex., Aug. 18. – Eight men are reported dead near this point. They were drowned while fishing. Report reached here from an authentic source that the bodies of a woman, a baby and a sailor had beached near Sylvan Beach. They were unidentified and apparently had floated from some place on the bay.” (San Antonio Light. “Morgan’s Point Reports Eight Dead,” Aug 18, 1915, p. 2.)

Aug 19: “Houston, Texas, Aug. 19.—Direct word from the storm-swept communities of the Southeast Texas coast is bringing details of the tropical hurricane which put Galveston, Houston, Texas City and scores of other cities and towns in a dire peril. With large sections of the district yet unheard from, the death list was more than one hundred, the heaviest reported loss being from Virginia Point, opposite Galveston. The property damage may exceed thirty million dollars, with Galveston contributing half that amount. According to information available, the deaths were recorded as follows;

“Virginia Point, thirty;
Texas City, eighteen;
Galveston, fourteen;
Sylvan Beach, three;
Houston, two;
Hitchcock, seven;
Laporte, seven;
Port Arthur, four;
Lynchburg, three;
Seabrook, three.”

(Daily Advocate (Victoria, TX). “The Storm Cost Texas Thirty Million Dollars,” 8-19-1915, 1)

Aug 19: “Galveston, Texas, Aug. 19.—Late reports here this afternoon indicate that not less than two hundred and thirty people lost their lives in the Gulf Coast hurricane last Monday night. A number of lives were lost at coast points, but the majority lost were aboard the vessels that were lost in the storm.” (Daily Advocate, Victoria, TX. “Death List May Total 230,” 8-15-1915, p. 1.)

Aug 19: “Galveston, Aug. 19.—(Via Beaumont, Texas)—Galveston has survived the most severe storm in her history with a known loss of 39 lives and a property loss of about $ 15,000,000. This loss, however, is negligible when compared with the terrible hurricane that blew out of the West Indies and touched with death many towns and cities along the gulf coast from Sabine Pass to Matagorda Bay.

“In Galveston the storm roared in frightful menace through the city for more than 24 hours, and to the strength of the great sea wall alone Galveston owes its salvation. Had it, not been for this immense bulwark thousands of lives would have been lost

“Property Loss Enormous.

“Not a business house or residence in the city escaped damage in some degree and the property loss is enormous. The principal destruction of property occurred near the wharves. The cotton piers all suffered, one or two being washed away. Two elevators were seriously damaged by the wind.

“Five ocean-going steamers are aground on Pelican island and the United States army transport McClellan is stuck there also. Small craft were destroyed by the score.

“The principal damage to residence property was on the water front and beach.

“The dead include four soldiers, one civilian and a young boy…

“So far there are no reported cases of destitution and a mass meeting of citizens called together by Mayor Lewis Fisher took steps to take care of such cases as develop.

“Under Martial law.

“At a mass meeting a committee of 45 citizens was appointed to supervise the city’s safety and it was decided to place the city under martial law, as looting had been reported in scattered localities. Requests have been sent for companies of regular infantry to patrol the city and they expected to arrive by boat today. The local naval militia company and a number of private citizens have been created special policemen to protect property. All saloons have been ordered closed by Mayor Fisher….” (Young. “Vivid Description of Conditions in Galveston,” Mansfield News (OH), 19 Aug 1915, 1.)

Aug 19: “Houston, Tex., Aug. 19. – Known dead outside of Galveston from Monday night’s West Indian hurricane were 101 according to reports here tonight. Missing outside of Galveston were 158. Of the missing list it was feared more than half were dead. Communication with Galveston and Texas City, a distance of sixty miles from here, continued to be a matter of many hours. It was known that Galveston’s loss of life was comparatively light and it was evident that the island city was not rushing out any appeals for aid.

“The dead and missing lists outside of Galveston tonight, as recorded here: Dead –

Morgan Point, 6;
Wallaceville, 3;
Lynchburg, 5;
Port Arthur, 5;
Anahuac, 5;
Texas City, 32;
Surfside, 19;
Houston, 4;
Jennings Landing, 3;
San Leon, 3;
Seabrook, 2;
Cedar Bayou, 2;
Freeport, 1;
Sour Lake, 1;
Orange, 1;
Alvin, 1;
San Jacinto battle ground, 1;
Dickinson, 1;
Scattered on beaches, 6;

“….Governor James E. Ferguson of Texas, who is here to take charge of general relief work, today issued the following statement:

I trust the papers of the country will be careful in their statements with reference to conditions in the storm-stricken area. My information now is that the loss of life is not great and the local authorities will be able to handle the situation without outside assistance. Everything possible is being done to relieve conditions.

“Report is Confirmed.

“The destruction by the storm of the lighthouse at Surfside, Texas, about fifty miles below Galveston, was confirmed by couriers from that section tonight. These couriers said they knew positively that nineteen persons lost their lives in the lighthouse. It collapsed under the impact of huge waves and roaring wind between midnight and 2 a.m. Tuesday.

“Inland for 100 miles on each side of Houston the vast, flat south Texas prairies are dotted with crushed buildings, many isolated trees have their branches whipped almost bare of foliage, and the whole country still is teeming with water from the effects of a rainfall of nearly seven inches which accompanied the hurricane.

“Today, for the first time since the storm, the intermittent rains, gales and alarming black clouds disappeared and the sun shone brightly. During the hurricane the wind was so cold on the prairies that many hardy persons nearly perished from exposure incident to standing for hours in water and rain after their houses had become unsafe. A young son of Henry Hellman, near Alvin, died from such exposure.

“Cars Lie on Sides.

“Freight cars lie on their sides along the railroads in these flats and many miles of telegraph poles were snapped off or blown over.

“Harris county, where Houston is situated, has provided large quantities of disinfectant materials to use about bodies of domestic animals, which perished by hundreds along the edges of the bays….

“Railroads promised by tomorrow to have trains running on regular schedule from here to Texas City and thence by barge about six miles across the bay to Galveston. One road sent two trains to Texas City today, one morning and one evening, both crowded with passengers carrying permits from Mayor Ben Campbell of Houston explaining the nature of their business in Galveston and asking city authorities there to admit them. At the city hall here it was said these permits were necessary, in the interest of order and safety, while the water supply was impaired. Galveston city authorities had declared what amounted to martial law….

“Dredges Are Found.

“The lost dredge boats San Jacinto and Sam Houston were found late today aground near the Houston ship channel, where they had been working. The Sam Houston grounded near Highland.

“The list of missing in the hurricane was reduced tonight by 106 when men from the dredges Sam Houston and San Jacinto, carrying, respectively, fifty-six and fifty men, reported that all hands were safe. Some of the Sam Houston men escaped to Galveston.

“The tug Helen Henderson, was found today sunk in the Texas City channel. What became of her crew of nine was not discovered, and they were listed among the missing. The dredge Houston, a different boat from the Sam Houston, owned by the North American Dredging company, was found today broken in two, with no trace of her fifty men.

“All the undertaking establishments in Houston report that floating bodies have been seen near the bay resorts of Seabrook, Lynchburg, Morgans Point and Jennings Island, but so such bodies have been reported recovered.” (Salt Lake Tribune. “101…Known…Lost…Flood.” 8-20-1915.)

Aug 19: “International News Service. Washington, Aug. 19. – The loss of the United States Dredgeboat San Bernardo and thirty of its crew, great damage to army property at Fort Sam Houston, Camp Crockett and Texas City, the driving ashore of government dredgeboats and other small craft, establishment of martial law at Galveston and the destruction of millions of dollars’ worth of property were covered in reports to the war department today from the Texas flood and hurricane zone.

“Acting Secretary of War Breckenridge today wired General Bell, in command of the second division at Texas City, to take whatever steps may be necessary for the relief of troops at the government army camps, all of which are scenes of desolation.

“Mr. Breckenridge said an army transport can be sent from New York on August 22 as soon as necessary reports are made. It will be sent if needed in the relief work.

“Soldiers Reported Dead.

“Two soldiers were reported dead today in Texas City.

“The department was advised that additional supplies will be needed there. A hospital has been established in the Southern hotel, which was taken over by the army. Lieutenant Colonel Roche of the engineer corps telegraphed as follows today from Galveston:

Hurricane of nearly equal violence to 1900. Less wind, higher water, long duration. No outside communication. Getting facts as rapidly as possible. Dredge San Bernardo lost, thirty of the crew probably lost; also small boats in harbor. Parapets of fortifications washed away. Loss of life in city very small owing to effective protection of sea wall. Property damages far less than in 1900.

“….Transport Grounded.

“Radio dispatches from Fort Sam Houston, forwarded by General Funston to the department, report the transport McClelland grounded. The transports Buford and Kilpatrick and the launch Pelican are safe. One dispatch says:

There is considerable suffering. Water system, lighting system, gas and street car systems out of commission. Fifth brigade camp completely wiped out, no loss of life reported. Depot corral destroyed; two employees reported missing; all animals except two drowned or missing….

(Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “30 Lives Lost on U.S. Dredgeboat in Gulf Storms.” 8-20-1915.)

Aug 19: “Galveston, Tex., Aug. 19, 1 p.m., by boat in Houston. – The sea has returned to normal here this afternoon and the last rainstorm following the hurricane stopped this forenoon. The number of dead here was not known exactly, but was estimated at less than twenty. Eight bodies were seen floating in the bay today, but it was not known whether they came from Galveston or were washed out from the mainland with the flow of the tide.

“The city is under martial law, with soldiers patrolling the streets and on guard in hotels. Galveston appears to have suffered outwardly much more from wind than from water. The hurricane ripped loose all manner of debris, littering it everywhere.

“The city’s most serious losses were the partial destruction of the $2,000,000 causeway. Only small boats ran to the mainland, so that the city temporarily is embarrassed for an adequate ferry service.

“There is no evidence that there was panic during the storm.

“In the Galvez hotel, which stands practically on the sea wall, the guests the night of the hurricane danced until midnight. Then the lights failed and the dancing stopped…” (Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Bodies Are Seen Floating in Bay Near Galveston.” 8-20-1915.)

Aug 20: “Houston, Texas, Aug. 20. – The death list from the Texas coast storm increased slightly today and the missing list decreased considerably. The known dead list was 116 today, including thirteen known dead in Galveston. Some other bodies were found about Galveston, but they were supposed to be from the mainland for the most part.

“The dead will be increased by a dozen or more when the Virginia Point hotel collapse is cleared up. Twenty persons are listed as missing in this collapse and up to today no trace of these missing has been reported here.

“Reports indicate that the thirty persons yesterday listed as missing at Bolivar had been found. Outside of these thirty at Bolivar, the only other single large missing list was fifty hands on the dredge Houston. The fact that nearly all hands on a dozen other dredges working in the same vicinity near Galveston had turned up safe after two or three days search for them, relieved worry over the Houston. AS conservative estimate of the missing today was less than 100….

“Port Arthur, Texas, Aug. 20. Two deaths and considerable property damage caused by high water was the toll of the great gulf storm here….Water which began to flood the streets Monday at midnight was receding rapidly today. The water had stood 2 ½ feet deep at the highest point and 4 ½ feet in the lower districts.” (Associated Press. “The Toll in Texas.” Aug 20, 1915, p13.)

Aug 21: “Washington, Aug. 21. – The war department was today notified that 19 members of the government dredge at San Bernardo was drowned at Galveston.” (Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Special to the Constitution.” Aug 21, 1915.)

Aug 21: “Washington, Aug. 21. – The army dredge San Bernard, lost in the gulf storm, has been recovered on the coast five miles east of the Brazos River, said a War Department dispatch received today. Eighteen of the crew were saved and 19 are missing and probably dead.

“The army derrick boat which has been working near Anahuac, Texas, went into the woods about a mile north of Wallisville, according to the dispatch and is being recovered. The tug Palfor fell off the building ways at Lynchburg.

“Galveston, Tex., Aug. 21. – Reports of appalling conditions on the mainland are reaching Galveston. Fully fifty dead bodies have been seen on the prairies near the bay shores. A visit to the mainland revealed the fact that farm houses by the score were destroyed. Bodies are being taken from some of these and buried on the island.

“Steps will be taken at once to relieve conditions on the mainland. The cities of Velasco, Freeport, Lavaca and several smaller towns along the gulf are in destitute circumstances, according to reports reaching here.

“The bodies of two women and four men were found at one end of the island. The body of an unidentified white man was washed up to the United States Quarantine Station.

“Surf Guard J. Maddocks was drowned at the San Luis Coast Guard Station. Captain Kelly, of the Station, was saved, but other members of the crew it is feared are lost. Five white men and a negro, all unidentified, were buried last night by explorers on Pelican Island.” (Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Life Loss Heavy From Gulf Storm.” Aug 21, 1915, p. 11.)

Aug 22: “With definite plans for the rehabilitation of Galveston formulated and their execution well under way, with the restoration of normal conditions expected within seventy-two hours, and possibly less; with all cases of destitution and acute suffering attended, Mayor Fisher, the city commissioners, and all others who have been taking an active lead in the work of the last week went to their homes last night to seek their first night of rest. They regard the crisis as over, and believe that the water supply, about which hinge nearly all sources of worry and inconvenience, will be restored before Tuesday night.

“That there is only one break in the submerged water main, and that it can be repaired within a short time, is the opinion of the engineers who worked on it all night last night. The break was found yesterday noon, and efforts were at once started to repair it. Should this be found impossible, a temporary main can be laid across the causeway by Tuesday night, giving the city ample water for domestic use.

“Trains will be run into Galveston within about two weeks, according to the estimates of railroad engineers. Work will be started at daylight this morning on trestles across tho bay, connecting the land on each side with thy arch portion of the causeway.

“Communication with the outside world has been almost fully restored. The Postal Telegraph Company yesterday opened up its wires, while the Western Union and the Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph companies had wires open Friday.

“The work of cleaning up the city is now the most important problem, except that of water, facing the citizens, in the opinion of a number of businessmen who met in the office of Maco Stewart yesterday afternoon. Drastic means are to be adopted to force the unemployed to work. Commissioner Sappington told the meeting that he had more than two hundred wagons at work hauling off debris and garbage.

“Business Men Offer Services.

“He asked for five business men who would volunteer to meet at the city engineer’s office and do the clerical work necessary to the cleanup campaign, and Marion Douglas, Richard Wilkens, Henry Reybaud, Harris Gouldmann and Louis A. Adobe offered their services. He then asked for ten citizens who would perform the duties of foremen of the wagons, directing the drivers and seeing that the wagons were well filled. Several volunteered and promised to secure the full number to go to work this morning.

“The citizens adopted unanimously a vote of thanks to the mayor and the city commissioners for the manner in which the situation had been handled, and for their long hours of sleepless service to the city.

“Mayor Fisher announced last night that every merchant and business man in the downtown district must have his place of business cleaned out by tonight. The wagons have been making trips daily over the same streets, and the mayor wants to make it necessary for them to make only one more trip, and he is desirous that they clean up today.

“The food supply in the city is plentiful. At the police station, where the city is selling food at cost, there is a large supply of bread, flour and other groceries, and more can be secured if this is exhausted.

“Nearly all the large employers have agreed not to map more than 20c per hour for common labor. Mayor Fisher and other city officials have been incensed by reports that white men have been circulating among the negro laborers, asking them not to work for less than $4 per day. Mayor Fisher repeated last night that all who refuse to work for regular prices will be arrested on charges of vagrancy and forced to work….” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Disheveled Galveston Rapidly Gaining Aspect of Normal Through Heroic Work of Citizens.” 8-22-1915, 1.)

Aug 22, Galveston: “No further efforts are being made by searching parties to bring to Galveston bodies of drowned persons, but they are being buried as soon as found. Two crews, under the leadership of W. C. Homberg and Gus Akermann, have spent the last three days searching the waters of the bay, and in that time have buried a large number of bodies. All valuables have been removed before burial, $237 being taken from the body of one man yesterday. Descriptions of the bodies are also being taken, but the state of decomposition for the last two days has made that almost impossible.

“All reports of the finding or burial of bodies have not been filed with the city health office, making it impossible to estimate the number of lives lost on the island. Many bodies are found in the bay waters that could have come from the mainland or from the island. Where identification was impossible, as it has been in all but a few instances, the bodies were buried where found, and their identity may never be known.

“While descriptions have been as accurate as the condition of the bodies would permit, they are general descriptions, giving peculiar details in but few instances. The searching parties have buried the bodies and marked the graves with wooden headboards on which were marked the numbers of the bodies. The description corresponding to the number has been filed in the city health office.

“Of those found by Mr. Homberg and his party the only bodies identified were those of M. W. Parry, a carpenter of Galveston, and Imbro Pobi. These were found on Pelican Spit…[goes on to note particulars of eight other bodies found and buried on Pelican Spit].

“The body of a white woman, very large, but about 5 feet 4 inches in height, was found at Virginia Point. The body of a white man about 5 feet 6 inches in height, dressed in a dark blue suit, was found on the Texas City dike north of the channel yesterday afternoon by Gus Akermann.

“Two bodies were located about eleven miles down the island last night. They are supposed to have been Mrs. H. L. Dyer and J. C. Floren, who were lost at Surfside Monday night. Complete examinations will be made for identification purposes today by friends from Richmond, the home of the missing.

“It is generally conceded by those in charge of the work that few more bodies will be found near the island, and that none of them will be identified unless by something on them, as it is now almost impossible to tell the race of a body.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Bodies Buried Where Found.” 8-22-1915, p. 1.)

Aug 22:
Dead Missing
Galveston City 8 —
Galveston Island (outside city)… 45 10
Morgans Point 7 2
Wallisville 18 —
Lynchburg 6 3
Port Arthur 2 —
Anahuac 5 —
Texas City 25 —
Surfside 20 5
Houston 3 —
Jennings Island 3 —
San Leon 3 —
Seabrook 4 —
Cedar Bayou 2 —
Freeport 1 —
Pelican Island 8 —
Sour Lake 1 —
Orange 1 —
Alyin [Alvin?] 2 —
San Jacinto Battle Ground 1 —
Dickinson 1 —
Oyster Bayou 2 —
Saratoga 1 —
Chambers County 5 —
Virginia Point 15 —
Double Bayou 2 —
Rollover 5 2
Moss Bluff 5 —
On vessels –
Dredge San Bernard 17 —
Dredge Houston 30 —
Tug Helen Henderson 15 —
Dredge Clara D. — 9
Dredge Sandown — 7
Smack Avalon — 9
Smack Cape Horn — 9
Smack Mary Silveria — 9

Totals 256 65

(Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, 1.)

Aug 22: “Port Arthur, Tex., Aug. 22. – Proclamation by the mayor was posted today announcing the impressment of all able-bodied men for the purpose of cleaning up the town as the water recedes. Special police have orders to arrest and take to jail all persons refusing to work. The water is receding slowly at this date as the natural drainage becomes less effective. It is apparent that a large area will have to be handled by drainage pumps. Refiners have not yet resumed work, but scavenger gangs are at work cleaning up. Cargo ships in port before the storm are not yet being worked, the docks being three miles from the city with water intervening…..The water is off all sidewalks of the business section today, permitting stores to be washed out….Refugees are beginning to return to take care of their inundated homes.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mayor Issues Proclamation to Able-bodied Workers to Clean Town.” 8-23-1915, p. 2.)

Aug 23: “Mayor Lewis Fisher announced last night that no more water will be given out except for drinking purposes by the city water department until the water connections are restored. All persons wanting water for other than drinking purpose may get it as the well of the Seaboard Rice Milling Company at Forty-first and Winnie streets, or at the well of the Gulf Fisheries Company at Twenty-second street and Avenue A. This will apply to restaurants, which heretofore have been furnished with water.

“The water from these artesian wells is excellent for stock water or for cooking purposes. There are also wells in front of the store of Ben Blum & Co. at Twenty-fourth street and Strand, in the rear of the establishment of J. Levy & Bro. and at several other business houses, the water from any of which is available without cost to citizens.

“One week ago today there blew up from the Gulf of Mexico the greatest hurricane that ever swooped down upon the Texas coast, inundating the coast country for miles inland and wrecking damage to property and life as yet unknown.

“A week ago the city of Galveston was in the first throes of a destroying convulsion of nature. Today the sun smiles again, the gulf breezes blow and men go busily about their tasks – very busily indeed, for there is much to be done.

“Although considerable progress has been made in the clearing away of the more dangerous varieties of trash and debris from streets and alleys, there yet remains a large quantity to be moved and a large amount of cleaning up to be done. The city, beginning today, will use drastic measures in pushing this work. All idle men upon the streets will be impressed into service and forced to work, whether they wish to or not. All teams and wagons in the city also will be impressed into service until the big job of civic housecleaning is done.

“The water problem is still unsolved and still the pressing need of the city. Divers yesterday discovered that ninety-six feet of the submerged main under the bay has been torn away and it will be necessary to patch this gap with dredge pipe as a temporary arrangement. Meantime work on the auxiliary eight-inch main across the wrecked causeway has been started and probably will be completed within two or three days. If fortune favors, the submerged main may be repaired by this afternoon, in the opinion of engineers superintending the work. As soon as water is restored in the city mains the wires will buzz with electricity, lights will shine again, machinery will hum, street cars will rattle and – bathtubs will be working overtime! Only water is needed to complete the preliminary work of rehabilitation started last week.

“In the event mains have not been repaired within forth-eight hours from last night, barges will be pressed into service ferrying water across the bay from Morgans Point, the city supply in the local reservoir already being so low that it will be denied to all today for any other purpose than drinking.

“Reports of the finding of several additional bodies of storm victims were made during the day yesterday. Four bodies, believed to be those of members of the ill-fated house party at Surfside, were discovered on the beach about fifteen miles down the island, while searching parties also found and buried eight bodies of unidentified white men on the Texas City channel dike and on the north jetty.

“First reports from the Bolivar Peninsula section were brought during the day by County Commissioner J.A. Boddeker. That section suffered heavily and the people are badly in need of immediate assistance, he said. There were thirty-eight deaths reported on the peninsula, although it is thought that a large number of the bodies found and buried, were washed up from other sections of the bay territory.” (Galveston Daily News. “Water Still Absent From City Mains…,” Aug 23, 1915, p. 1.)

Aug 23: “A water-covered waste, swept bare of houses, fences and barns, destitute of all live stock and crops, with several hundred people marooned on isolated spots of high land— this is the picture of Bolivar Peninsula from Point Bolivar to High Island brought back to Galveston. yesterday afternoon by County Commissioner J. A. Boddeker, who, with a party or four men visited the peninsula by boat to carry supplies for storm sufferers.

“Thirty-eight persons are known to be dead and four are reported missing in this stretch of territory, a narrow peninsula that guards the Galveston Bay waters on the southeast. Twenty-seven bodies, all unidentified, have been buried in the vicinity of Port Bolivar. Many of these undoubtedly washed up on the beach from other points, either Galveston island or the mainland in the vicinity of Texas City.

“In the vicinity of High Island nine are known to be dead and four are missing. Those known to be dead are:

G. Jackson, Beaumont, body recovered.
Bennie Roberta, Beaumont, body recovered.
Elam Albritton, Jackson’s ranch.
Jennie Albritton, Jackson’s ranch.
Frank Kirkland, Jackson’s ranch, body recovered.
Miss Mary Baker, Jackson’s ranch, body recovered.
Unidentified man.
Unidentified woman, only head found.

“At Rollover two are known to be dead….” (Galveston Daily News. “Bolivar Peninsula Inundated By Water.” Aug 23, 1915, p. 1.)

Aug 23: “….Seven steamers were blown about the harbor, all sustaining damage. The Ribston, tearing loose from her moorings, drifted down the channel and is lying half submerged in water at the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad Company yards. Two steamers, the Harlesden and the Eaton Hall, drifted to Swan Lake, near Virginia Point, where they now are partly aground. The Wallace lies two miles up the Houston ship channel, and nearby is the Upo Mandi. The Morawitz, an interned Austrian steamer, is stranded on Redfish reef. The Hawkhead is aground on Pelican Spit.

“The Morgan liner El Siglo is on the rocks of the south jetty, resting on the bottom with ten feet of water in her hold and a hole punched in her side. Should rough weather come on she probably would be ground to pieces, but under present weather conditions she will hold until gotten off….

“Small boats in the harbor, as well as the large ones, sustained great damage. ‘The channel is strewn with them.’ said a tugboat captain who has been working about the harbor with his boat since the storm. Many, too, were blown up high on the shore, where they are now, warping and cracking in the sun. Houseboats, launches, pleasure and commercial craft of all kinds are strewn about over the dock front in haphazard fashion. One little boat lived up to her name. She is lying several hundred feet back of the dock near Twelfth street, battered and damaged, almost covered with debris. Her name, Hard Luck, is painted on her stern and bow.” (Galveston Daily News. “Wind and Water Wrecked Many Small Crafts and Tore up Piers….” Aug 23, 1915, p. 2.)

Aug 24: “Reports of the finding and burial of several more bodies were received at the city health office yesterday. J. Matee buried bodies, of which the following are descriptions: White man found near Southern Pacific tracks, sandy mustache, ‘2H2W’ tattooed on wrist; a boy 18 months old and another 3 years aid; a man of about middle age.

“Gus Akerstrom and his crew of men reported the following descriptions of bodies buried Sunday: [description. of three people].

“City Sexton R. M. Tevis reported the burial of eleven unidentified dead…” (Galveston Daily News. “More Bodies Given Burial.” Aug 24, 1915, p. 1.)

Aug 24: “The Texas coast storm took a toll of twelve lives in Hitchcock, according to H. I. Roberts of that city. Of this number three were whites and the others were negroes. Will Powers, a fisherman named Anderson, and C. L. Chandler were the white men lost. Several bodies of people living elsewhere were washed up on the prairie near Hitchcock and have been buried. On one of these, a white woman, was a ring with the inscription ‘L.M. to B.M.’.

“Several light gasoline launches have drifted on the prairie, according to Mr. Rogers….

“The property loss at Hitchcock will be enormous in the opinion of Mr. Rogers, as nearly every house there was damaged. Many farmers living south and east of the city lost their homes and others were partially destroyed.” (Galveston Daily News. “Storm Damage at Hitchcock: Twelve Lives Lost.” Aug 24, 1915, p. 1.)

Aug 24: “No word was received yesterday from the four smacks of the Gulf Fisheries Company, unreported, and every day adds to the apprehension of the owners and of the friends of the crews of their safety. The vessels that have not put in appearance are the Cape Horn, the Avalon, the Mary Silveria and the Fortuna No. 1. Their crews average nine men each….” (Galveston Daily News. “No Word Received of Fishing Smacks.” Aug 24, 1915, p. 7.)

Aug 25: “With the most important of all public utilities, water supply, and two others that depend thereon, lights and electric power for transportation, still paralyzed, Galveston nevertheless continues slowly to recover from the effects of the Texas coast storm. Street cleaning has progressed to such an extent that thoroughfares in the business section are practically clear of trash and refuse left by the high water and considerable cleaning up also has been done in residential districts.

“The city water supply probably will be restored partially today…

“Thorough investigations into the need for relief among families left destitute by the storm, made yesterday, revealed the fact that, although there are undoubtedly some who are in need of assistance, relatively few are without the necessities of life or the opportunity to recoup their fortunes. Galveston is still determined to take care of her own people, and assurances of business men given yesterday that all expenses to this end will be defrayed by local capital precludes the necessity for asking aid from outside sources.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Work of Rehabilitation Continues in Galveston With Water Now in Sight.” 8-25-1915, 1.)

Aug 25: “The death of his wife, Mrs. Lottie McTeer, aged 25 years, in the Texas coast storm was reported to The News yesterday by H. B. McTeer. The body was found twenty miles…[unclear] from Moodys Lake, and was buried at the Wilburn graveyard….`We clung to the wreckage and my wife and I floated for several hours on the safety…[unclear] of timber. We floated in the haven of Double Bayou, and the wreckage by which we were supported was whipped against the trees. In her exhausted condition my wife was knocked from the wreckage and drowned…” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mrs. Lottie McTeer, 25 Years Old…Drowned.” Aug 25, 1915, p1.)

Aug 26: “Street cars ran in Galveston yesterday, electric current was turned into the city wires, work of cleaning took on added zest and Galveston made another long stride toward regaining its equilibrium – all due to the fact that water from the mainland reached the city through the temporary emergency main strung across the damaged causeway….

“By carting water from wells the Galveston Electric Company procured enough with which to start its boilers yesterday and the first cars to be run since the night of the storm clattered their way through the streets of the city….

“Further progress was made in cleaning the streets and the removal of another thousand wagon loads of trash left the business section relatively free from the accumulated filth….” (Galveston News. “Renewed Energy Given To Workers…Water Flows Again.” 8-26-1015, p. 1.)

1915: “Driven by the terrific wind of the great hurricane passing further south in the Gulf of Mexico, an immense tidal wave struck the lower Louisiana coast Aug 16, burying Grand Isle to a depth of six feet and inundating other points along Barataria Bay.

“The storm caused the loss of fourteen lives in Galveston on the 16th and 17th. Four of the dead were United States soldiers. Five hundred houses were crushed and the entire island, on which the city stands, was covered with debris. The protection of the sea wall built after the first Galveston disaster was believed to have accounted for the small loss of life. Three fires raged on Aug 16 with great loss. 101 persons were reported dead and 264 missing outside of Galveston.

“Some of the estimates of property loss were as follows:

“Galveston, $15,000,000 or more; Houston, $2,000,000; Texas City, $400,000; Port Arthur, $200,000; Seabrook, $100,000; Sabine, $100,000; Sabine Pass, $100,000; Kemah, $50,000. In addition, there was an enormous loss to cotton growers and oil fields in the storm belt.” (Information Annual 1915: A Continuous Cyclopedia and Digest of Current Events. P. 551.)

1916: “A storm isolates Galveston and causes much loss of property and nearly 200 lives on the Texas coast.” (Wickware. The American Year Book: A Record of Events…Progress, 1915. p800)

Missouri

Chillicothe Constitution: “St. Louis, Aug. 21. – Ten bodies have been recovered by the police from the flooded districts. The receding waters have permitted the rescuers to make thorough search of houses in the flooded area. Hundreds of persons are still unable to reach the business section of the city. The bodies of eight negroes were recovered today.

“Considerable damage by the over-flowing of the Wood river and Capoka creek was done. Many residents of Alton, Edwardsville and Benbow City were imperiled by the high waters. The Wood river levee broke, flooding the towns to the depth of 10 feet in some places. Warnings were sent down the valley of the coming flood and it is believed that everybody escaped. The rainfall for the two days was nearly eight inches.” (Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Recover 10 Bodies in St. Louis Flood.” 8-21-1915, p. 1.)

NYT: “St. Louis, Aug. 20. — The storm that devastated the Texas Gulf Coast last Monday and Tuesday, sweeping northward, struck St. Louis with diminished fury last night and today, bringing with it the heaviest downpour in the history of the city, and causing a flood that drove hundreds of city and suburban residents from their homes. Up to 5 o’clock tonight the rainfall since the storm began was 5.95 inches.

“The flood here was due to back water in the storm sewers in the western part of the city and to a big rise in the River Desperes, which went out of its banks in the western and southern parts of the city, and flooded suburbs, interrupted train service, and caused annulment of street car service to suburban towns.

“Through train service into St. Louis was affected by the storm which continued tonight. Rumors of drownings in Maplewood and other suburbs were unconfirmed. By the middle of the afternoon every automobile road and street car line leading from St. Louis to the surrounding suburban towns had been closed because of high water. Firemen were rescuing inhabitants of several suburbs from second-story windows in boats.

“Four feet of water entered the subway of the Union Station, the underground passage through which baggage and mail is handled. The gates of the tunnel leading from Union Station to the main Post Office were closed, preventing damage to the latter building and its contents. Damage was slight.

“Shortly before noon Mayor Kiel ordered Street Department trucks to take lifeboats from the city harbor boat to Maplewood to help in the work of rescue. All available city automobiles were hurried to the suburbs. At noon one fire engine company in the extreme southern part of St. Louis had taken 115 persons from their homes. A train stopped at Delmar station, near the city limits, but the water around the station was so high that firemen and street employes were called on to assist the marooned passengers. Ropes were tied about the rescuers to pull them through the current as they waded in.

“Police stations received many telephone calls from persons who said they were marooned on the second floors of their homes. Many houses in the suburbs of Greenwood and Maplewood were completely surrounded by water, with only roofs and chimneys visible. From a distance, rescuers in skiffs could be seen taking the people from second story and attic windows.
The 500 residents of Benbow City and West Wood River were warned of the oncoming flood by two men on horseback, who, preceding the water by a few minutes, rode through the streets calling, “Run for your lives!”

“The entire population of both towns sought refuge in the city of Wood River. Four hundred employes of the Western Cartridge Company and the Equitable Powder Company in East Alton escaped the wall of rushing water. The property loss of these two plants alone was estimated at more than $200,000.

“A Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis train, with seventy-five passengers, was caught between two streams of flood water and was stalled. Efforts to remove the passengers by boat were begun.” (NYT. “Gulf Storm Brings Flood to St. Louis.” Aug 21, 1915.)

Steam Shovel and Dredge: “The damage done by the recent storm in and around the Gulf was largely localized and resulted almost entirely from the wind. In Missouri, however, the concentrated rain of August 19-20 caused considerable damage in and around St. Louis. The record for the twenty-four hours between 7 p. m.. August 19, and 7 p. m., August 20, shows a maximum in St. Louis of 9.35 in. with a wind velocity of 48 miles per hour. This is a rainfall nearly double any previous 24-hour record in St. Louis. The fall was fairly steady, and the intensity was not exceptional. Consequently, little more sewer trouble was reported than from the heavy short rains during the summer.

“The River des Peres, which runs through the western part of the city of St. Louis, however, caused considerable damage. This river, which has a drainage area of about 110 square miles, practically a quarter of which is in St. Louis itself, broke all records for high water, overtopping nearly all of its crossing bridges except the high concrete arch at Clayton Road. All streetcar traffic and trains to the west were suspended, and the driveway on Clayton Road was for over 12 hours the only communication line across the stream. In the West End residence district of St. Louis the river flooded from half a mile to a mile wide, tore up some wood-block pavements and washed out several of the small street bridges. Although plans for controlling the stream had been prepared, no money had ever been appropriated for the work. It is thought that now the stream control will be undertaken at a cost of about $5,000,000.

Later in the week, the Meramec River, which empties into the Mississippi just south of St. Louis, was in flood because of the same rainstorm. This river rose many feet and spread over a considerable area of the lowland, causing some damage to summer residences on its banks.”
(Steam Shovel and Dredge (Vol. 19, No. 9, Sep 1915). “Flood at St. Louis,” p. 810.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Texas Storm Takes New Lease of Life and Moves Toward Lower Great Lakes.” 8-20-1915, 13. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=9748024

Associated Press. “The Toll in Texas.” Aug 20, 1915, p. 13. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=9748024

Bedient, Philip B. and Antonia Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms and Hurricanes,” pp. 1-15 in: Bedient, Philip B. (Ed.) Lessons From Hurricane Ike. Texas A&M University Press, 2012. Google preview accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=gelBBDRUjCcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Blake, Eric S., Edward N. Rappaport, and Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Cyclones From 1851 to 2006. Miami, FL: National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, April 15, 2007 update, 45 pages. Accessed at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/Deadliest_Costliest.shtml

Boston Daily Globe. “No Trace of Marowijne; Vessel Week Overdue – Had 93 Aboard.” 8-24-1915, p. 16. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=161173903

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database. Louvain, Belgium: Universite Catholique do Louvain. Accessed at: http://www.emdat.be/

Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Recover 10 Bodies in St. Louis Flood.” 8-21-1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=114246675

Chillicothe Constitution, MO. “Special to the Constitution” [Wreck of Dredge San Bernardo]. 8-21-1915. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=114246675

Daily Advocate, Victoria, TX. “Death List May Total 230,” Aug 15, 1915, p. 1. Accessed 3-16-2020 at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/

Daily Advocate. Victoria, TX. “The Storm Cost Texas Thirty Million Dollars; Death List is Light,” Aug 19, 1915, p. 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=85473019

Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. Hurricane. New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc., 1958, 393 pp.

Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). Baton Rouge LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 377 pages.

Elsner, James B. and A Birol Kara. Hurricanes of the North Atlantic: Climate and Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Bodies Buried Where Found.” 8-22-1915, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815617

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Bolivar Peninsula Inundated By Water.” Aug 23, 1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815621

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Disheveled Galveston Rapidly Gaining Aspect of Normal Through Heroic Work of Citizens.” 8-22-1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815617

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mayor Issues Proclamation to Able-bodied Workers to Clean Town.” 8-23-1915, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815622

Galveston Daily News, TX. “More Bodies Given Burial.” Aug 24, 1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815629

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mrs. Lottie McTeer, 25 Years Old, Knocked from Floating Wreckage by Trees and Drowned.” Aug 25, 1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815637

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Nine Additional Bodies Found” [Galveston vicinity Hurricane] 8-23-1915, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815622

Galveston Daily News, TX. “No Word Received of Fishing Smacks.” Aug 24, 1915, 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815635

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Renewed Energy Given To Workers in Galveston When Water Flows Again.” 8-26-1915, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815645

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Reported Dead and Missing.” 8-22-1915, p. 1. Accessed 3-16-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-aug-22-1915-p-1/

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Storm Damage at Hitchcock: Twelve Lives Lost.” 8-24-1915, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815629

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Three More Bodies Are Found.” 8-25-1915, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815637

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Water Still Absent From City Mains but Work of Readjustment Progresses,” 8-23-1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815621

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Wind and Water Wrecked Many Small Crafts and Tore up Piers – Steamers Break Mooring in the Gale and Go Aground at Various Points in the Bay.” Aug 23, 1915, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815622

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Work of Rehabilitation Continues in Galveston With Water Now in Sight.” 8-25-1915, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42815637

Gunn, Angus M. Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies (Volume 1). Westport CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2007.

Hebert, Paul J., J.D. Jarrell, Max Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes of This Century (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS-NHC-31). Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Feb 1993, 41 pages.

Information Annual 1915: A Continuous Cyclopedia and Digest of Current Events. New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 1916. Digitized by Google At: http://books.google.com/books?id=9mNMAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Jarrell, Jerry D., Max Mayfield, Edward N. Rappaport, Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes From 1900 to 2000 (And Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS TPC-1). Miami, FL: NOAA NWS and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, October 2001 Update. Accessed at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/index.html

Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association. “Obituary,” Vol. 12, Nov. 1915, p. 502. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=T-oBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Landsea, Christopher W., et al. “A Reanalysis of the 1911-20 Atlantic Hurricane Database.” Journal of Climate, Vol. 21, May 15, 2008, pp. 2138-2168. Accessed at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/reanal_1911-20.pdf

Lettens, Jan. SS Marowijne (+1915). Wrecksite.eu. Accessed 3-16-2020 at: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?201360

Mansfield News, OH. “Death Toll May Pass Two Hundred – Taking Count Today of the Devastation Wrought by the Fury of the Hurricane,” 8-19-1915, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=14055939

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX: NWS, 12-20-2009 modification. Accessed 6-8-2012 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=climate_holidays_hundred

New York Times. “Gulf Storm Brings Flood to St. Louis.” Aug 21, 1915. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F40C14FA3A5C13738DDDA80A94D0405B858DF1D3

New York Times. “Marowijne Search Fails,” 8-31-1915. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20711F63E5D16738DDDA80B94D0405B858DF1D3

Norcross, Bryan. Hurricane Almanac. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2006.

Popular Mechanics Magazine. “Mysteries of the Sea,” Vol. 46, No. 1, July 1926, p. 8. At: http://books.google.com/books?id=fdgDAAAAMBAJ&dq=marowijne+ship&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Roth, David (National Weather Service). Texas Hurricane History. Camp Springs, MD: NWS. 1-17-2010 update. Accessed 11-22-2017 at: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “30 Lives Lost on U.S. Dredgeboat in Gulf Storms.” 8-20-1915. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=95021679

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “101 Are Known to Have Lost Lives in Flood.” 8-20-1915, 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=95021679

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Bodies Are Seen Floating in Bay Near Galveston.” 8-20-1915. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=95021679

San Antonio Light, TX. “Morgan’s Point Reports Eight Dead,” 8-18-1915, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=71070293

Sav, Thomas G. Natural Disasters: Some Empirical and Economic Considerations (Final Report, NBSIR 74-473). Washington, DC: National Bureau of Standards, Institute for Applied Technology, Center for Building Technology, Building Economics Section, February 1974, 74 pages. Accessed 7-12-2017 at: http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build74/PDF/b74006.pdf

Steam Shovel and Dredge (Vol. 19, No. 9, Sep 1915). “Flood at St. Louis,” p. 810. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=-MkuAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Life Loss Heavy from Gulf Storm.” 8-21-1915, p. 11. Accessed 3-16-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/trenton-evening-times-aug-21-1915-p-11/

Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Recovering Bodies in St. Louis Flood.” 8-21-1915, 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=10617854

Washington Post. “121 Known Texans Dead.” 8-20-1915, p. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5562456

Wickware, Francis G. (Ed.). The American Year Book: A Record of Events and Progress, 1915. New York and London: D. Appleton and Company, 1916. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=lPgOUea6FK0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Wolshon, Brian, Elba Urbina and Marc Levitan. National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Hurricane Center, 2001, 36 pages. Accessed at: http://www.publichealth.hurricane.lsu.edu/Adobe%20files%20for%20webpage/NationalReviewHurrEvac.pdf

Young, Perry H. “Vivid Description of Conditions in Galveston,” Mansfield News (OH), Aug 19, 1915, p. 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=14055939