1900 Galveston Hurricane
The Galveston hurricane began developing about August 30, 1900 in the middle Atlantic Ocean. It was still a tropical storm when it moved to Cuba on September 4. It hit Key West on September 6. At that point it became a full hurricane. It was a Category 4 hurricane when it got near the Texas coast. In the early afternoon of September 8 it hit with little warning. By the next morning it was gone and so was much of Galveston. After that, it moved back east as a tropical storm over the U.S. The damage was over $30,000,000. Galveston began rebuilding almost right away. A new seawall was built and many buildings were raised several feet. But it could not recover completely. The storm convinced most in the shipping industry to move to Houston with its safer harbor. Galveston would never again be the busiest shipping port in Texas.