Looking back at the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston and made it stronger in the long run

PHOTOS: Galveston's 1900 hurricane in photos

A large part of the city of Galveston, Texas was reduced to rubble after being hit by a surprise hurricane Sept. 8, 1900. More than 6,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless from the Great Storm.

>>>See more photos from the storm that decimated the island... less PHOTOS: Galveston's 1900 hurricane in photos

A large part of the city of Galveston, Texas was reduced to rubble after being hit by a surprise hurricane Sept. 8, 1900. More than 6,000 people were killed and ... more Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 59 Caption Close Looking back at the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston and made it stronger in the long run 1 / 59 Back to Gallery

See scenes from the hurricane in the gallery above

Every year Texas historians reflect on the hellish 1900 hurricane in Galveston that brought the burgeoning coastal power to its knees.

On Sept. 8, 1900, the city of Galveston was struck by one of the worst hurricanes on record, killing at least 6,000 people, decimating the area and causing $30 million in damage. It remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

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The storm derailed the future of the port town. A city that was once called a great candidate to become "The New York of the South" lay in ruins.

Since the town was founded in 1839 it suffered various storms but never again like what happened in 1900.

Photo: Leemage / Universal Images Group, Getty Images/Universal Images Group An illustration from French newspaper Le Petit Parisien of the...

The hurricane came at a time before tropical storms were given names. Winds exceeded 140 miles per hour when the Category 4 hurricane made landfall. The storm surge topped 16 feet in a city that had an elevation of 9 feet.

The story of the run-up to the deadly 1900 event is told in "Isaac's Storm," written by Erik Larson, detailing the work of Galveston's chief meteorologist Isaac Cline who worked to warn locals about the coming storm. His first-hand account of the storm, written just a month later, is chilling and can be read here.

According to the Galveston Historical Foundation's Jami Durham there is a common myth that the city lost all of its buildings in 1900 when in fact it only lost around two-thirds. These days hundreds of businesses and residences in Galveston probably carry special 1900 Storm Survivor plaques, a badge of honor for surviving tragedy.

In response to the storm Galveston built a 15-foot-high seawall for protection from future hurricanes, completed in 1911. The city also raised more than 2,000 buildings to try and sidestep Mother Nature's wrath.

In August 1915 a similar Category 4 hurricane hit Galveston and tested the new seawall. The protective barrier held and only 11 people died. A 24-hour advance warning also allowed for the evacuation of a great deal of the population.

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That 1915 storm was not without its devastation as a series of photos in the University of Houston's digital archives show, but it hit a Galveston that was much smarter than it was before.

As the 20th century continued, hurricanes Audrey and Carla tested the meddle of the seawall. The structure then survived the pounding conditions that the destructive Hurricane Alicia brought in 1983 and Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Craig Hlavaty writes for the Houston Chronicle.