What were the top 3 hurricanes that caused the most damage in Texas?
The most destructive and dangerous hurricanes in TEXAS (NOT THE U.S.) … are….
1.___________________________________
2.___________________________________
3.___________________________________
Thanks!
Chosen Answer:
In no order…and some crossed over other states besides Texas. These hurricanes mainly effected EASTERN TEXAS.
Galveston, Texas 1900
Category: 4 • Deaths: 8,000-12,000
This was the big one in terms of casualties. It is estimated that between 8,000 and 12,000 people died, largely because of the 20-foot storm surge that took Galveston’s citizens by surprise on September 8, 1900. Late warnings were issued by the U.S. Weather Bureau, but many people stayed put, preferring to watch the rising surf. When the Category 4 storm made a direct hit on the barrier island Galveston, half the town’s homes were swept away, many with the occupants still inside. When the storm passed, bodies were found high in trees and in walls of debris that were three stories high. Many victims were simply never found, either having been washed out to sea or buried under tons of sand. Disposing of the bodies that were found proved to be a major and horrific undertaking. “Dead Gangs” were formed to collect the dead, which were burned, while the squeamish workers were plied with whiskey to keep them at their task. Approximately 700 bodies were loaded onto barges and deposited 18 miles out at sea, only to later wash up on Galveston’s beaches, as if to remind the living not to forget what happened.
July 20, 1909 a hurricane passed directly over Velasco, Texas, There, the calm center lasted 45 minutes, and was followed by devastating winds on the other side which destroyed one-half of the town.
Eastern Texas and New Orleans, 1915
(Both unnamed) Category: Both 4 • Deaths: 275 for each of them
The year 1915 was especially devastating, with five separate hurricanes recorded off the United States. The two worst hit Texas and Louisiana. Eastern Texas, struck on August 17, had approximately 275 deaths.
Florida Keys and Texas Hurricane, 1919
(Unnamed) Category: 4 • Deaths: 287
The path of this particular unnamed hurricane was almost due west, first causing misery in the Florida Keys, then continuing across the Gulf of Mexico and smacking Corpus Christi, Texas. Many of the deaths from the storm were the result of several ships being sunk
Audrey, 1957
Category: 4 • Deaths: 419
Hurricane Audrey slammed into eastern Texas and western Louisiana as a Category 4 storm, causing over a billion dollars in damage and 419 fatalities.
Hurricane Carla, September 10. 1961: Carla was the largest and most intense Gulf Coast hurricane in decades. On September 8, Carla’s center took aim at the Texas coast. On the 9th, the largest mass evacuation to that date occurred, as an estimated one-half million residents of low coastal areas and islands off Texas and Louisiana were evacuated to higher ground. As the center approached Texas on the 10th, winds near the center were estimated at 150 mph. Only 46 lost their lives because of early warnings. Severe damage along a wide expanse of the Texas coast was caused by unusually prolonged winds, high tides and flooding from torrential rains. Damage was about billion in 1990 dollars.
Hurricane Celia, Auqust 3, 1970: Hurricane Celia was one of the most destructive storms to ever hit Texas, with damages estimated at .6 billion (in 1990 dollars).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_hurricanes_(1980%E2%80%93present)
by: Shelley
on: 19th May 13
