| Hello American,
The worst weather disaster in U.S. history occurred in August-September 1900 when a hurricane with winds of 120 mph struck Galveston, Texas, killing over 8,000 persons.
It dumped eight to twelve feet of water and left nearly one-third of the city’s 38,000 people homeless.
Even a train, on its way to Galveston with passengers, was blown off the tracks! Believe it or not, Galveston was prepared for the storm.
Other water-related disasters included the Great Dayton Flood of 1913, but because of several factors, rescuers saved all but about 360 people.
One of the most interesting aspects of the flood was that no government agency—not even the National Guard—was
able to reach Dayton for days.
Instead, Daytonians took it upon themselves to save their neighbors. John Patterson, the head of National Cash Register, turned his cash register company into a boat factory instantly, and as employees made boats, two of them would jump in and immediately begin paddling into the city to rescue people trapped on buildings.
Factory space not dedicated to building boats was turned into a giant relief center.
Two good lessons from this emerge: sometimes, no matter how prepared you are for an emergency, bad things are going to happen. It’s life . . . and death.
Second, the government may not be able to help. There are times in life when you’re going to have to take care of yourself.
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