The Texas City Disaster, 1947

by Hugh W. Stephens

On April 16, 1947, a small fire broke out among bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the hold of the ship Grandcamp as it lay docked at Texas City, Texas. Despite immediate attempts to extinguish the fire, it rapidly intensified until the Grandcamp exploded in a blast that caused massive loss of life and property. In the ensuing chaos, no one gave much thought to the ship in the next slip, the High Flyer . It exploded sixteen hours later. The story of the Texas City explosions—America's worst industrial disaster in terms of casualties—has never been fully told until now. In this book, Hugh W. Stephens draws on official reports, newspaper and magazine articles, personal letters, and interviews with several dozen survivors to provide the first full account of the disaster at Texas City. Stephens describes the two explosions and the heroic efforts of Southeast Texans to rescue survivors and cope with extensive property damage. At the same time, he explores why the disaster occurred, showing how a chain of indifference and negligence made a serious industrial accident almost inevitable, while a lack of emergency planning allowed it to escalate into a major catastrophe. This gripping, cautionary tale holds important lessons for a wide reading public.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a seismograph in Denver picks up a explosion on the southern coast of Texas, you know someone screwed up. Or someones. A lot of someones. This book stirred up memories of the Halifax disaster. Different substance, pretty much same result. The book is a greatly covered account. The writing style is different as far as layout. Kinda reminded me of book reports in school where you break it down into sections. But it is easy to read and follow. The second chapter will give you a run down of the substances involved and their composition and hazards, as well as a general run down of the industrial use and it safety preparations(or lack there of). It's actually pretty interesting and helps you to understand how the explosion came to be. After that, strictly business about the disaster. Appropriately titled book....this was a major disaster. Not super detailed but more than enough to give you a clear picture of what went down. I just hope that if I'm ever involved in one of these events, that I'm the guy that lands a mile away with minor damage. Not the one that is never seen again because, well......there is nothing left to see.

[Steven Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot...I already read this one about 20 years ago.

[Trish Mcintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m an emergency manager, and EM educator working in Texas City. This book gives an in depth account of the events of the Texas City Disaster from a distance of 50 years. I think this is an excellent addition to any EM curriculum as it details success and failure of preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, communications, volunteers, incident command, interagency coordination, mass casualty management, and more. If you need rich case study and would like something different from natural disasters, this is an excellent choice.

Also very interesting for anyone living in Galveston County, employed in maritime, petrochemical, or response arenas.

[Brian Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and short read. Great case study about the Texas City Disaster in 1947.
Living in Galveston, I always heard about this disaster but never really knew any details!

[Tanya Cassingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a class and it was quite interesting. In 1947, two ships docked at Texas City near Galveston exploded because the potential hazard of ammonium nitrate wasn't understood. Five hundred people perished and thousands were injured. This period was basically prior to any of the current safeguards we now take for granted. It's an excellent study of the many layers of a chemical disaster, well written and factual, narrated in a compassionate voice. Recommended for those interested in emergency preparedness, worker's rights, port & shipping history, or disaster junkies.