1900 Galveston hurricane
The Great Galveston Hurricane, known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900, was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, one of the deadliest hurricanes (or remnants) to affect Canada, and the fourth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane overall. The hurricane left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000. Most of these deaths occurred in the vicinity of Galveston after storm surge inundated the entire island with of water. In addition to the number killed, every house in the city sustained damage, with at least 3,636 destroyed. Approximately 10,000 people in the city were left homeless, out of a total population of nearly 38,000. The disaster ended the Golden Era of Galveston, as the hurricane alarmed potential investors, who turned to Houston instead. The Gulf of Mexico shoreline of Galveston island was subsequently raised by and a seawall erected.
Willie Drye
Drye's first book, "Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935", was published by National Geographic Books in August 2002. The book, a work of narrative nonfiction, tells the story of the most powerful hurricane in US history, which struck the Upper Florida Keys on September 2, 1935, during the depths of the Great Depression. The storm's 200 mph winds and 20-foot storm surge killed more than 400, including about 260 World War I veterans working on a New Deal construction project building a highway between Miami and Key West. A political storm followed the hurricane when WPA administrators were blamed for not getting the veterans off the low-lying islands before the storm struck.