Video: 'When Weather Changed History - Galveston Hurricane'

(Saturday, September 8, 1900, water rose steadily from 3:00 p.m. CST/highest measured wind speed was 100 mph (160 km/h) just after 6:15 p.m. CST/cyclone made landfall around 8:00 p.m CST; during the 1900 Galveston hurricane) — A hurricane and tidal wave struck Galveston, Texas, today, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people in the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

Most of the deaths occurred in and near Galveston after storm surge inundated the coastline with 8 to 12 feet of water.

In addition to the number killed, the storm destroyed about 7,000 buildings of all uses in Galveston, which included 3,636 destroyed homes; every dwelling in the city suffered some degree of damage.

The hurricane left approximately 10,000 people in the city homeless, out of a total population of nearly 38,000.