Galveston Hurricane 1900
September 8, 1900 – The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history happened on this day in Galveston, Texas.
At the time, Galveston was a booming port city of over 37,000 people living on an island that was 27 miles long and 1 to 3 miles wide. One railroad bridge connected Galveston with the mainland.
4 days earlier, a massive storm made landfall in Cuba, bringing tons of rain and wind. Cuban meteorologists issued warnings that the storm was heading west or northwest across the gulf, where it would likely gain strength and threaten Louisiana or Texas, but those reports were downplayed by the U.S. Weather Bureau which viewed the Cuban forecast as overly alarmist.
So for the most part, people in Galveston had almost no warning of the danger approaching. By midday on September 8, winds were strengthening and the sea was rising, but most residents were going about their normal routines.
By early afternoon, the first storm surge hit the island. In 15 minutes the water rose 4 feet and flooded the streets. Some homes in low-lying areas were destroyed.
Panic started to ensue. Between 6PM and 9PM the hurricane’s full fury hit. Winds blew at 140 miles an hour and 15 feet of water submerged the city. The railroad bridge was knocked out. Boats were tossed and trashed in the raging surf. There was no getting off the island.
One survivor described the chaos to the Galveston Daily News:
“The shrieks of women and children, the groans of the dying, the prayers of the faithful, the curses of the wicked, and the roar of the storm combined into one awful sound that rings in my ears to this day.”
Between 6,000 and 8,000 people would die that night. There were so many bodies in the streets, that mass cremations were performed on the beach to prevent the spread of disease.
In the aftermath, Galveston built a 17-foot seawall and pumped in tons of sand to raise the grade of the island. Another huge hurricane slammed into Galveston in 1915, but thanks to the seawall and other precautions, the island avoided another catastrophe.
