Question

This time there was no murmur in the air, no warning of approaching danger. Even the watchful press, that knows so much before it ever happens, slumbered quiet and deep, till the hissing wires shrieked the terrifying word—Galveston.

Then we learned that, as at Port Royal, the sea had overleaped its bounds and its victims by thousands were in its grasp.

In all the land no one slept then. To us it was the clang of the fire-bell, and the drop of the harness. The Red Cross clans commenced to gather.

Read the excerpt from A Story of the Red Cross.

Why does the author most likely include this description?

to show the contrast between the peaceful silence and the devastation
to show that journalists know more about what happens than anyone
to show the power of nature in dangerous situations

Answer 1

to show the contrast between the peaceful silence and the devastation

The passage contrasts the calm, sleeping world (even the usually-alert press) with the sudden, shocking news of the Galveston disaster to emphasize how unexpectedly and dramatically the catastrophe struck.