History of Galveston, Texas - Storm of 1900

Storm of 1900

In 1900, the island was struck by a devastating hurricane. Even post-Hurricane Katrina, this event holds the record as the United States' deadliest natural disaster. In the early morning of September 8, high surf despite prevailing winds out of the north heralded the oncoming storm. By noon low-lying areas near the Gulf and the Bay side of the city were flooding and the winds increased. Near 4 p.m. a storm surge approximately 15 feet (5 m) high slammed into the coast. Wind speeds reached approximately 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) (an estimate, since the anemometer was blown off the U.S. Weather Bureau building). Isaac Cline was the bureau's chief meteorologist. An account of the events surrounding the hurricane based on his personal records is given in Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. The city was devastated, and an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people on the island were killed. After the storm, the city decided to shore up its defenses against future storms by constructing a permanent concrete seawall along a large portion of the beach front (1902–1904). The entire grade of the city was raised some 17 feet (5 m) behind the wall to several feet near the Bay (1904–1910).