>>> ON FRIDAY, LONG-RANGE

FORECASTERS AT ACCUWEATHER

RELEASED THEIR EARLY PREDICTIONS

FOR THE 2019 ATLANTIC HURRICANE

SEASON, WHICH RUNS FROM JUNE 1st

THROUGH NOVEMBER 30th.

THEIR CONCLUSIONS, 12 TO 14

NAMED STORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP

IN THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE BASIN

DURING THE UPCOMING SEASON, AND

FIVE TO SEVEN OF THEM ARE

FORECAST TO DEVELOP INTO

HURRICANES.

OVERALL, ACCUWEATHER SAYS WE

SHOULD HAVE A CLOSE TO NORMAL

AND AVERAGE HURRICANE SEASON,

ALTHOUGH TWO TO FOUR HURRICANES

MAY BE MAJOR WEATHER EVENTS.

LAST YEAR'S HURRICANE SEASON

PRODUCED 15 TROPICAL STORMS,

EIGHT OF WHICH BECAME

HURRICANES.

IN THE CAROLINAS, HURRICANE

FLORENCE CAUSED CATASTROPHIC

DAMAGE AS DID HURRICANE MICHAEL

IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE.

40 PEOPLE DIED AS A RESULT OF

THE TWO STORMS.

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER

HAS ALREADY NAMED THE FIRST FIVE

STORMS OF 2019, ANDREA, BARRY,

CHANTAL, DORIAN, AND ERIN.

LUCKILY, NONE OF THOSE STORMS

WILL LIKELY EVEN COME CLOSE TO

CAUSING THE DEATHS AND

DESTRUCTION OF THE GREAT GULF

HURRICANE WHICH HIT THE TEXAS

CITY OF GALVESTON ON SEPTEMBER

8th, 1900.

THE HURRICANE, WHICH KILLED AN

ESTIMATED 10,000 PEOPLE AND

REMAINS THE GREATEST NATURAL

DISASTER TO EVER STRIKE THE

COUNTRY.

I HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH

"TODAY" SHOW ANCHOR AND

WEATHERMAN AL ROKER ABOUT THAT

DEVASTATING HURRICANE, WHICH HE

DRAMATICALLY CHRONICLED IN HIS

BOOK "THE STORM OF THE CENTURY."

I BEGAN OUR CONVERSATION BY

ASKING AL HOW THE GREAT GULF

HURRICANE FIRST GOT ON HIS

RADAR.

>> I WAS THINKING ABOUT SANDY,

BUT I STARTED TO RESEARCH OTHER

STORMS THAT HAD HAPPENED.

AND I HAD BEEN IN GALVESTON 2008

WHEN IKE HIT, AND PEOPLE ALWAYS

TALKED ABOUT THE 1900 HURRICANE,

BUT THEN WHEN I GATHERED THIS

RESEARCH AND STARTED TO LOOK AND

I KEPT THINKING THIS CAN'T BE

RIGHT.

THIS CAN'T BE THAT DEADLY, OH,

MY GOSH.

AND SO I THINK I THOUGHT THIS IS

SOMETHING THAT COULD BE KIND OF

INTERESTING.

IT WAS A CUBAN CONNECTION AND

THERE WAS ALL THIS GOING ON THAT

I THOUGHT MADE IT REALLY

RESONATE WITH TODAY.

AND SO I HIRED A GREAT

RESEARCHER, A GUY NAMED BILL

HOAGLAND TO FIND WHAT HE COULD

FOR ME.

AND WHEN I HAD IT LAID OUT IN

FRONT OF ME, OH, MY GOSH, THIS

IS THE STORY.

>> SO WHAT MADE THE STORM SO

DEVASTATING?

WAS IT THE STRENGTH OF THE

STORM?

WAS IT THE LIMIT OF THE

METEOROLOGICAL SCIENCE AT THE

TIME, OR WAS IT HUMAN FOLLY?

>> IT WAS A COMBINATION.

IT WAS REALLY A COMBINATION OF

ALL THOSE THREE THAT YOU REALLY

POINT OUT TO WELL, BECAUSE IT

WAS -- FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS

MONSTER STORM, HUGE STORM.

IT WAS A CATEGORY 5 STORM.

IT CAME ON SHORE WITH WINDS OVER

200 MILES PER HOUR, SEAS OF

ANYWHERE FROM 10 TO 30 FEET

HIGH.

BUT THERE WAS ALSO HUMAN HUBRIS.

THERE WAS HUBRIS INVOLVED,

BECAUSE AT THE TIME, THE

PREEMINENT CAPABILITY WAS IN

CUBA.

THEY FORECAST TO HIT ONE 100 TO

150 MILES OF GALVESTON, TEXAS.

BUT A PETTY BUREAUCRAT NAMED

WILLIS MOORE WHO WAS RUNNING THE

WEATHER BUREAU AT THE TIME WAS

IN CAHOOTS WITH THE HEAD OF THE

WAR DEPARTMENT, THERE WERE

POLITICAL TENSIONS AND INTRIGUE

WITH CUBA.

WOW, THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED

AGAIN.

AND SO THEY CUT OFF CUBA

TELEGRAPHICALLY FROM MAINLAND

U.S.

SO THAT FORECAST NEVER GOT IT.

>> NEVER GOT OUT.

>> AND THE PREVAILING THOUGHT AT

THE TIME IN THE U.S. WAS THAT

STORMS OF THIS MAGNITUDE

WOULDN'T HIT THE GULF BECAUSE

THERE WAS A NATURAL CURVE.

SO YOU PUT THOSE THREE THINGS

TOGETHER, AND THEY WERE DOOMED.

>> THE STORM DIDN'T

DISCRIMINATE, IT KILLED EVER,

BLACK, WHITE, POOR.

BUT AFTERWARDS IT SHOWED THAT

THE CITY ITSELF WASN'T SO

UNBIASED.

>> RIGHT.

>> HOW?

>> IN THE BEGINNING, SADLY, OVER

10,000 PEOPLE DIED, LOST THEIR

LIVES, IN A NIGHT.

AND WHEN THE SUN CAME UP, THE

DOWNTOWN, THE SURVIVORS OPENED

THEIR DOORS TO A LIVING HELL.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF CORPSES

LINING THE STREETS, STRIPPED

NAKED FROM THE POWER OF THE WIND

AND THE WATER.

SO HOW DO YOU GET RID OF THEM?

WELL, THEY THOUGHT, OKAY, WHAT

WE'RE GOING TO DO IS WE'RE GOING

CONSCRIPT EVERY ABLE-BODIED

BLACK MAN TO HELP LOAD BODIES ON

TO BARGES AND TAKE THEM OUT

ABOUT 15 --

>> FORCE THEM TO DO THIS.

>> FORCE THEM TO DO THIS, AND

THEN TOSS THEM OVER THE SIDE.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY CAME BACK

IN.

THEY REALIZED THEY DIDN'T HAVE

ENOUGH PEOPLE.

SO NOW THEY HAD BLACKS AND

WHITES WORKING TOGETHER, THE

FIRST INTEGRATED WORKFORCE

REALLY OF ANY MAGNITUDE IN

GALVESTON.

>> WHAT LESSONS DID WE LEARN

ABOUT PREDICTING STORMS FROM

GALVESTON?

>> I THINK, AGAIN, THE MAIN

THING WE HAVE TO LEARN IS WE ARE

NOT THE MASTERS OF OUR DOMAIN.

THIS IS NOT OUR -- EVEN TODAY, I

MEAN, WE'VE COME A LONG, LONG

WAY.

YOU LOOK AT SANDY, AND THE

FORECAST FOR SANDY WAS SPOT-ON.

BUT THE DEVASTATION THAT IT

WROUGHT, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT

PREPARED PROPERLY FOR THESE

STORMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE

HAPPENING MORE.

>> SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM

SANDY AND WHAT HAVE WE NOT

LEARNED?

>> I THINK WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS

WE REALLY NEED TO HARDEN OUR

INFRASTRUCTURE AGAINST THESE

KIND OF STORMS, BECAUSE THEY'RE

GOING TO BE HAPPENING MORE AND

MORE.

AND AS SEA LEVEL RISE HAPPENS,

OUR SHORELINES ARE GOING TO

BECOME MORE AND MORE VULNERABLE.

SO MANY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE

CONCENTRATED ALONG OUR,

ESPECIALLY THE EAST COAST DOWN

INTO THE GULF COAST WHERE WE'RE

MOST VULNERABLE.

BUT WE'VE ALSO GOT TO LEARN, WE

ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT THE FACT

THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME HARD

CHOICES ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.

I THINK IT'S AND/OR HOW PEOPLE'S

PROPERTIES ARE INSURED.

BECAUSE THESE ARE GOING TO

HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN.

>> ALL RIGHT, AL.

THE BOOK IS "THE STORM OF THE

CENTURY."

THE SUBTITLE IS "TRAGEDY,

HEROISM, SURVIVAL AND THE EPIC

TRUE STORY OF AMERICA'S

DEADLIEST NATURAL DISASTER," THE

GREAT HURRICANE OF 1900.

IT'S AN INTRIGUING READ.

AL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

JOINING US.