Human consequences
About 3,600 houses are destroyed; there are so many bodies that they have to be burned on pyres.
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Hurricane & cycloneGalveston hurricane
8,000Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
$20MEstimated cost
- Estimates of 6,000 to 12,000 deaths: the deadliest natural disaster in US history.
- About 20 million dollars at the time.
A Category 4 hurricane drives a storm surge of about 4.6 m onto an island whose highest point is no more than 2.7 m. The city is completely submerged.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
The whole island is submerged and reshaped by the sea.
Economic consequences
Houston overtakes Galveston as Texas’s great port.
Political consequences
A 5 m seawall is built and the entire city is raised; the “commission” form of city government is invented.
Further reading
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In the rankings : The deadliest hurricanes and cyclones No. 5
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