What natural disaster struck Galveston, Texas in 1900?

The natural disaster that struck Galveston, Texas, in 1900 was the 1900 Galveston hurricane.

The powerful Atlantic hurricane made landfall near Galveston on September 8, 1900. Its storm surge overwhelmed the low-lying barrier island, sending seawater and debris through the city. Estimates place the death toll between 6,000 and 12,000, with about 8,000 the most commonly cited figure, making it the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

Galveston had fewer than 38,000 residents at the time, and virtually every building suffered damage. Approximately 10,000 people were left homeless. The catastrophe ended the city’s position as Texas’s leading commercial center and helped shift economic growth toward nearby Houston.

In response, Galveston raised much of the city and built a seawall. The storm is sometimes called the Great Galveston hurricane, the Great Storm of 1900, or the Galveston Flood. It was a hurricane—not the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1889 Johnstown flood, or the 1927 Mississippi flood.