An Inconvenient Truth – The 1900 Galveston Hurricane

September 8, 1900 the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States obliterated the thriving city of Galveston, Texas.

An Inconvenient Truth - The 1900 Galveston Hurricane
Galveston after the 1900 hurricane – Photographer unknown – Texas State Library

Perhaps pollution and increased CO2 emissions cause amnesia!

For those who believe in Man-Made Global Warming, allow me to present to you this inconvenient truth. In 1900 a category 4 hurricane hit Galveston, Texas, leveling the city. This was before pollution from China, India, and USA. Autos had just started being built. No emissions into the air yet. No hole in the ozone. So what caused this one, Liberal environmentalists? Trump wasn’t even born yet (Although some on the Left might claim that Trump probably travelled back in time, causing the Hurricane).

The hurricane was so bad that a 2008 article in Time Magazine reported it as “The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history”.

The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history was not Hurricane Katrina. Not even close. It was the storm that hit Galveston, Texas, exactly 108 years and one week ago. That storm killed about 8,000 Americans and leveled what had been the largest city in Texas. It was a vicious storm with 130 mph winds.

In Galveston, they call it the “Great Hurricane” (Sept. 8, 1900). This was way before hurricanes were named, which didn’t start until 1953. In 1900 Galveston was only about 9 feet above sea level. When the hurricane made landfall on September 8th it had estimated winds of 145 miles per hour at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. The hurricane brought a 15 foot tall storm surge along with these winds. The surge was so powerful it washed over the entire island, knocking buildings off their foundations and then pounding them into scraps of wood. In total over 3600 houses were destroyed.

Many of us thought that Hurricane Katrina caused the most U.S. deaths (1,800, with an additional 700 still missing), but it was dwarfed by the Galveston Hurricane, which was the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the US, claiming over 6,000 lives.
 
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane

 

Deadliest United States Hurricanes

Rank Hurricane Season Fatalities
1 “Galveston” 1900 8,000–12,000†
2 “Okeechobee” 1928 2,500+†
3 Katrina 2005 1,836
4 “Cheniere Caminada” 1893 1,100–1,400*
5 “Sea Islands” 1893 1,000–2,000†
6 “Florida Keys” 1919 778
7 “Georgia” 1881 700†
8 Audrey 1957 416
9 “Labor Day” 1935 408
10 “Last Island” 1856 400†
†estimated total
Reference: Deadliest US hurricanes