Hurricane flattened Galveston in 1900

GALVESTON, Texas, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Preparing for Hurricane Ike, residents of Galveston, Texas, have been reminded of a storm that ruined the city in 1900, killing up to 12,000 people.

The unnamed Sept. 8, 1900 hurricane was the worst weather disaster in American history, CNN reported Saturday.

That storm covered Galveston Island with 8- to 16-foot storm tides, caused property damage estimated at $30 million and left destruction so complete word of the disaster could not reach the outside world.

In 1900, Galveston was a rich shipping port of 40,000 people, many of whom ignored the warnings of the impending storm, CNN reported.

Black-and-white photographs show residents searching through ruins with only a gable or part of a porch to indicate what was once a home. Cleanup crews dumped many of the storm's victims at sea, only to have the bodies wash ashore and then be burned in funeral pyres that smoldered for weeks.

In the aftermath, Galveston was rebuilt with a sea wall elevated 16 feet at the ocean, CNN reported, noting that while Galveston today is a vibrant city it never regained the status as it held before the storm of 1900.