Outline for Informative Speech on Galveston Hurricane of 1900

Attention-getter: How many of you feel safe in your homes or know that if a natural disaster struck you would be able to make it out alive? Audience Relevance: Due in large part to the early warning systems we have in place today, we can avoid the vast majority of natural disasters in a way that previous generations could not. C.Speaker Credibility: As a resident of Houston, Texas, I grew up hearing the tales of some of the major Hurricanes that had zeroed in on our coastal region and left it in shambles. In 2008, Hurricane Ike, one of the most destructive hurricanes in Texas history, knocked out power to over 2.6 million people. The storm caused a 14-foot surge and over 18 inches of rainfall. Before the day was over Ike had claimed 84†¦show more content†¦1. Isaac Cline was the head of the U.S. Weather Bureau in Galveston in 1900. He would have been the first line of defense against any major meteorological events. 2. The book, â€Å"Isaacs Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson,† details not only the harrowing tales of Isaac and other Galveston residents who weathered the storm, but delves further into the issues that left Galveston unprepared that late Summer’s day. 3. At the turn of the twentieth century, Americans were especially confident in their technology and mastery over the natural world, that many felt that inclement and dangerous weather could be predicted so accurately that there was no need to fear. These attitudes in combination with a series of political problems within the Weather Bureau led to the ignoring of warnings from Cuban meteorologists regarding the storm. In an effort not to cause panic, no warning was given to Galveston residents of the storm until it was too late. The lack of warning combined with Galveston’s misfortune of being very near the eye of the hurricane and being hit by the storm at a 90 ° angel, left the city vulnerable to the storm’s full force. Transition: A combination of pride and ignorance would lead to the loss of more than 6,000 lives and left 8,000 homeless. Main Point #2: Regardless of the late warning that the citizens of Galveston received the main problem lay in how the city was