The Galveston Hurricane

Coastal towns are changed forever when hurricane winds strike. On September 8, 1900, the citizens of Galveston, Texas, found out how true this would be for them. The city was ravaged by winds that reached nearly 130 miles per hour. Unlike today’s world, where weather stations are often able to give warnings about impending hurricanes, leaving people time to prepare for upcoming storms, those living in the 1900s had no way of knowing the magnitude of what was about to happen.

When the storm was over, one-sixth of Galveston’s population—approximately 10,000 people—was gone. The death toll was staggering, but especially sad were the deaths of many children. At St. Mary’s orphanage in Galveston, all but three of the children living there were reported to have perished that day.

Thousands were left homeless after the hurricane. Volunteer agencies such as the Red Cross rushed to help those in need. Through the caring of others and the help of its citizens, Galveston managed to rebuild; however, those who survived the hurricane would be forever changed by what had occurred.