NOAA reports:
In the summer of 1900, Galveston, Texas, was a thriving commercial city perched on a low-lying barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Texas mainland. It was an economic boom-town, a major port with over 40,000 inhabitants. End-of-summer tourists flocked to the wide beaches with sweeping vistas of the Gulf of Mexico.
But on September 8, 1900, a horrific hurricane slammed into the city. Wind speeds surpassed 135 miles per hour, making it a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Storm surges rose 15 feet and, within hours, estimates of 6,000 to 12,000 unwary people were killed and over 3,600 buildings were destroyed. The Galveston Hurricane remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history…
I’ve visited Galverston. It’s basically sitting on a sand bar. A big wave would create problems for it.
Galveston was unprepared because the “weather scientists” of that day declared that “it was impossible for a hurricane to ever form in the Gulf of Mexico. The conditions to make one form simple did not exist there.” The “science was settled”.
1900 – Galveston, TX – 40,000 population – Cat 4 Hurricane – 3600 buildings destroyed – 6000 to 12000 dead.
2005 – New Orleans, LA – Cat 5 Hurricane (@max) – over 300,000 population – 126,000 buildings “severely damaged or destroyed” – less than 2000 dead.
It looks like Americans on the Gulf Coast are evolving the ability to survive major storms.