Galveston hurricane of 1900 | Description, Damage, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Great Galveston hurricane

Galveston hurricane of 1900, hurricane (tropical cyclone) of September 1900, one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming more than 8,000 lives. As the storm hit the island city of Galveston, Texas, it was a category 4 hurricane, the second strongest designation on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

The storm was first detected on August 27 in the tropical Atlantic. The system landed on Cuba as a tropical storm on September 3 and moved on in a west-northwest direction. In the Gulf of Mexico the storm rapidly intensified. Citizens along the Gulf Coast were warned that the hurricane was approaching; however, many ignored the warnings. On September 8 the storm reached Galveston, which at the time had a population of approximately 40,000 and benefited economically and culturally from its status as the largest port city in Texas. The storm tides (storm surges) of 8–15 feet (2.5–4.5 metres) and winds at more than 130 miles (210 km) per hour were too much for the low-lying city. Homes and businesses were easily demolished by the water and wind. Some 8,000 lives were lost, according to official estimates, but as many as 12,000 people may have died as a result of the storm. From Galveston the storm moved on to the Great Lakes and New England, which experienced strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall.

After the hurricane, Galveston raised the elevation of many new buildings by more than 10 feet (3 metres). The city also built an extensive seawall to act as a buffer against future storms. Despite the reconstruction, the city’s status as the premier shipping port was lost to Houston a few years after the disaster.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kenny Chmielewski.