September 8, 1900 marks the date of what is considered to be the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the U.S., at least during the 20th Century. Prior to this date, Galveston, then the largest city in Texas, had been at the center of the nation's cotton trade. However, the city had decided against the construction of a seawall for protection from hurricanes and tropical storms. As a result, when struck by a category 4 hurricane, the city was demolished by the 15 foot waves. The number of estimated dead was around 8,000.
April 18, 1906 marks the date of an enormous 7.7 to 7.9 magnitude earthquake that all but demolished the city of San Francisco, California. At around 5:12 a.m., the first fore-shock occurred, followed shortly by the great quake which lasted for almost a full minute. Several fires resulted from the broken natural gas mains, and due to the damage caused to the water mains, the ability to fight the fires effectively was severely compromised. The city went on to burn for four straight days, raising the death toll to around 3,000 and destroying more than 500 city blocks, leaving scores of people homeless.
The early 1930s saw the beginning of a decade-long natural disaster known as the "Dust Bowl" that lasted throughout much of the Great Depression. Due primarily to poor agricultural practices and a prolonged period of drought, much of the land throughout the Great Plains was left exposed to erosion. The loose topsoil that was once held in place by crops before the drought was swept up by windstorms that blackened the skies across much of the country. Dust masks were worn by people everywhere to prevent breathing in dirt from the "black blizzards," as they came to be called. The drought continued through the remainder of the decade, by which time programs were implemented throughout the region to protect the land from erosion by planting trees and plowing the land into furrows. By the end of the decade, rain had arrived and crops began to grow once more.
The deadliest tornado in American history tore through the states of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925. More than 15,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 700 people perished in a mere three and a half hours. At the time, weather forecasters were not even allowed to study tornadoes or acknowledge their existence. Due to the tremendous destruction and loss of life, the National Weather Service began development of a warning system that would have saved many of the lives lost on that day.
On August 29, 2005, a massive hurricane named Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States, causing its most severe damage in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. Although it approached the coast as a category 5, it made landfall as a category 4 with sustained winds of 125 miles per hour in Louisiana. New Orleans encountered severe damage primarily due to the storm surge. The surrounding levees were broken, leaving 80 percent of the city under water. Around 180,000 homes were lost in the flood and at least 1,836 people were killed by Katrina. Damages were estimated to be around $125 billion.
