As Harvey continues to wreak havoc and the death toll rises, these pictures show the impact of America's deadliest natural disaster more than 100 years ago.

Devastating images show houses flattened and rescuers digging for bodies following the Great Galveston Hurricane.

The Category 4 hurricane, with winds of up to 145 mph, made landfall on September 8, 1900 killing at least 8,000 of its 37,000 residents and destroying more than 3,600 buildings.

Boys pick through the debris following the Great Galveston Hurricane in September 1900

The remains of a school left flattened by the Category 4 hurricane that struck in 1900

Rescuers dig for bodies after the deadliest hurricane in US history that left at least 8,000 dead

Shelters set up for the homeless after the hurricane that displaced thousands of residents

Pictures showed locals rummaging through the wreckage for bodies, as well as shelters set up for the homeless following the hurricane.

The storm is still considered the deadliest hurricane in US history.

Among the dead were 90 of the 93 orphans at St. Mary's Orphanage and the 10 nuns in charge.

Officials tried to dump some of the corpses 18 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, but when the bodies washed ashore, the city's relief committee ordered they be burned.

The city of Galveston was rebuilt with a seawall and jacks were used to raise more than 2,100 buildings as much as 17 feet, while sand was pumped from the bay to fill in the empty space.

That did a fine job of protecting the city when another Category 4 hurricane with 135mph winds hit the city in 1915. Eleven people were killed in that natural disaster.

Prior to the storm, the wealthy city of Galveston had been one of the nation's busiest ports. It was known as the Wall Street of the South, with a thriving shipping and financial centre. It had also become the largest cotton port in the country.

But after the storm it was decimated and left with about $20 million in damages, which would amount to more than $700 million in today's dollars.

A railway line in Galveston that was left covered by debris and fallen buildings

A child sits on piles of rubble following the deadly hurricane. More than 8,000 people were killed, most drowned or crushed

A disaster relief party search for bodies in the city that was once one of the wealthiest in Texas

The city of Galveston was rebuilt with a seawall (pictured) and jacks were used to raise more than 2,100 buildings as much as 17 feet

It has drawn comparisons to Tropical Depression Harvey which has so far killed at least 35 people and forced 32,000 people into shelters since coming ashore on Friday near Rockport, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico Coast.

It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the state in half a century.

The storm is predicted to be one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history and presents the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump with massive humanitarian and rebuilding challenges.

Harvey weakened as it moved inland over Louisiana on Thursday, leaving behind record flooding that drove tens of thousands from their homes in Texas.

The death toll was rising as bodies were found in receding waters.

A new threat came from explosions at a flood-hit chemical plant in Crosby, 30 miles northeast of Houston.

The Houston Fire Department will begin a block-by-block effort on Thursday to rescue stranded survivors and recover bodies, Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann said.