8 Sep 1900: hurricane destroys Galveston

On this day in 1900, a hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing over 8,000. By contrast, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina killed 1,800.

Of particular note was the destruction of the Galveston Orphanage, which claimed the lives of 90 children and 10 Sisters of Charity.

It is still the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and the third deadliest Atlantic hurricane ever, behind the Great Hurricane of 1780 (more than 20,000 in the Caribbean) and 1998’s Hurricane Mitch (more than 10,000 in Central America).

Formal naming conventions in the North Atlantic basin did not begin until 1947. The present system alternates between male and female names. Even-numbered years start with a male name (2014: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly) while odd-numbered years start with a male name (2015: Anna, Bill, Claudette, Danny). The cycle repeats every six years with the names of destructive storms retired.

The most active hurricane season was 2005, when 27 North Atlantic storms received names. All 21 letters were used (Q, U, X, Y, Z are excluded), requiring the National Hurricane Center to use the first six Greek letters (Alpha through Zeta) for the remaining storms.

Image: the damaged Negro High School building in Galveston, with other wreckage.