I have seen this documentary film a couple of times now on the History Channel. It tells the story of the (unnamed) hurricane that destroyed the coastal city of Galveston Texas in the year 1900. Actually, it's really the story of weather forecaster Isaac Cline, who failed to fully warn the population and suffered the consequences along with them (his wife died in the storm). In my opinion, the most interesting point brought out in the film is the mindset of Isaac Cline and others like him--they believed that the technological and scientific progress of the 19th century had given mankind (read: Americans) control over the forces of nature. A decade before the storm, Mr. Cline had written a newspaper article saying that Galveston would never be in danger of destruction from a hurricane. The hubris and belief in American superiority are further illustrated by the fact that the U.S. Weather Bureau basically ignored the Cuban weather forecasters during the 1900 hurricane season, apparently believing that the Cubans had nothing significant to offer regarding Caribbean storms!
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