The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Page: 166
xiv, 17-536 p. : front., plates ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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166 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD.
immediately to barricade the city from the Gulf. A height of
twelve feet above the beach would give fourteen feet above the
water, and would, Colonel Robert thinks, afford ample protection.
COST OF THE SEA WALL.
As to the expense of such a structure, it is thought by engineers
that a liberal estimate would be about $1,500,000 per mile.
This wail, as projected by Colonel Robert, would extend from a
point on the south jetty, where the latter crosses the Gulf front
of the city, and would follow the line of the beach, two or three
feet above the water level, until it reached the southwestern limit
of the island, in the shallow water of West Bay. At the latter
point the danger from storms is not serious.
At present the depth of water between the jetties is 262 feet,
and it is thought that it will soon be thirty feet. The average depth
of the original channel across the twenty-five miles of Galveston
Bay is about twelve feet. It is proposed by Colonel Robert's plan
to increase this to at least twenty-five feet. An additional and
supplementary plan is to extend the improvement, so as to create
a system of coast channels that will transform Galveston into a
central port with a labyrinth of waterways.
EXTENSIVE HARBOR IMPROVEMENT.
The magnitude of the plan for the improvement of the harbor
of Galveston may be imagined when it is observed that the
inner basin, or harbor, is to be about five miles long by three
broad, that it may be approached by a deep water channel accommodating
ocean going vessels of the deepest draught. The outlet
into West Bay will not be so deep, as the bay itself is navigable
by light draught vessels only. The new land, formed on the basis
of Pelican Island and flats will be about four miles square.
Colonel Robert said that a survey will be made at once of the
wrecked forts aud other military works at Galveston. A report
received from that place says that those portions of the works
erected upon piling withstood the storm. It is proposed to use
piling entirely for similar works in the future.
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The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times (Book)
This book covers the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the United States' deadliest natural disaster. It includes accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses, and photos of the devastation.
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Lester, Paul. The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times, book, 1900~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth26719/m1/205/?rotate=270: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .