GALVESTON, Texas – On Sept. 8, 1900, a monstrous Category 4 hurricane slammed into one of Texas’ most populous cities – Galveston.
As many as 30,000 people lived in Galveston at the time of the storm. Between 6,000 and 12,000 people are believed to have been killed by it. The Great Galveston Storm is still the deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history.
When adjusted for inflation, the hurricane is estimated to have caused $104.3 billion in damage.
The storm
According to an account of the storm by the National Weather Service, word of a terrible storm that had wiped out parts of islands in the Caribbean had been telegraphed to the United States. Sailors began arriving at the port of Galveston with tales of horrible weather in the Gulf.
Heavy rain began pounding Galveston Island about 4 a.m. Sept. 7, followed by large waves and rapidly falling barometric pressure – a sure sign that a storm was coming. That was when the Weather Bureau station hoisted their hurricane flag.
By the evening of Sept. 8, 100-mph winds were measured at the Weather Bureau before the anemometer was ripped off the building. It’s estimated that the storm had winds of 145 mph at landfall. Those tremendous winds pushed a 15-feet-deep wall of water over Galveston Island. The highest point on the island at the time was about 9 feet above sea level.
It’s estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 buildings were destroyed by the storm. About 20% of the island’s population perished.
Rebuilding Galveston
The residents of Galveston worked tirelessly to rebuild the coastal boomtown while keeping the potential damage and loss of life from future storms in mind.
One of the biggest mitigation projects that came out of the 1900 hurricane was the Galveston Sea Wall. It was built to protect the city from future storm surge. Initially, it was built to protect 50 blocks of the town. Today, it stands 17 feet tall and stretches along 10 miles of coastline. It also serves as the longest continuous sidewalk in the U.S.
Click here for full article: https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/galveston-hurricane-of-1900-look-back-at-deadliest-weather-disaster-in-us-history