Historical Look On the Hurricanes That Hit the Texas Coast

May 25, 2011

Hurricanes are the most damaging natural disasters that impact the United States. Hurricanes not only bring on financial damage after the storm has passed but deaths as well. This article will focus on some of the most impactful hurricanes that hit the Texas Coast. According to the Texas Hurricane Center, the biggest hurricane to hit Texas was Carla and the most destructive was the Galveston Hurricane.

The Galveston Hurricane hit the coastal town in 1900. Although no exact size measurement of the hurricane was recorded, the destruction and damage it caused is how it is measured. This hurricane is categorized as the most destructive hurricane in US history because of damage and deaths that resulted from it. The city of Galveston was drowned by the 8-15 foot storm tides that hit around midnight on September 9, 1900. There was a warning given out to the town before the weather began to hit and out of the 30,000 people who lived in the town, 20,000 evacuated. 8,000 people died from this hurricane in which wind speeds reached 125mph. Property damage was estimated at $1.2 billion in today’s dollars.

In 1943, a hurricane hit Houston which was not categorized as deadly but it caused major damage of war production work during World War II. The eye of the storm was 13 diameters wide and the entire storm itself was about 70 diameters in width. This storm is considered to be stronger than the Galveston hurricane, with winds reported up to 132 mph. The winds caused damage, totaling $227 million. During this storm, two men flew into the eye of the storm for the first time ever.

Hurricane Carla hit the Texas coast along with Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama surrounding the Gulf in 1961. It caused one of the largest evacuations – an estimated 500,000 people from the lower coastal states fled to safer ground. Because of the early warnings, only 46 lives were lost, a remarkably low number for a storm of Carla’s magnitude. The storm’s gusts were around 150-175 mph. The storm extended from Victoria, Texas to Dallas, Texas. The storm continued damage with major flooding and numerous tornadoes into the Midwest. There was $14 billion in today’s dollars in damage done to the state as a result of this storm.

In 1970, Hurricane Celia hit the northern part of Corpus Christi and made its way inti Texas. The storm reached wind gusts of 160-175 mph, becoming even more powerful 15 hours before it hit land. Tornadoes and rain fall reached 9.2 inches in some of the areas hit by the storm. Because of the disaster preparedness team, only 11 people died due to the storm. The total cost in damages reached $9.5 billion.

In 2005, Hurricane Rita severely damaged the southeast coast of Texas, much of Louisiana, along with parts of the Florida Keys. In three days, Hurricane Rita intensified in the Gulf of Mexico transforming from a tropical depression to a full hurricane. The gusts reached 175 mph and cyclones made their presence known throughout the landfall. Rita made landfall as a category 3 hurricane, losing its strength as it traveled through land. There were of total of about 59 deaths and the damage was estimated at about $10 billion.

Hurricane Katrina also effected the southeast coastal region in 2005. It was recorded as one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Although its landfall was made near Louisiana, the storm made its presence known from central Florida to Texas. As a category 5 in the gulf, the winds reached 175 mph. There were a total of 1,836 confirmed fatalities and $90.9 billion dollars in damage.

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall near Galveston. Hurricane force winds at around 145 mph extended across the 120 mile storm. It was the largest Texan evacuation in the state’s history. About four hours prior to the eye hitting land, power began failing and eventually went out, effecting 4 million residents. Much comparison of this storm was made to the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which had a very similar track. It was recorded as the third costliest hurricane ever, totaling $29.6 billion in damages.

Texas has seen its fair share of hurricanes and will continue to in the future. In order for no fatalities or as little damage as possible to occur Texas residents must be aware and be prepared for hurricanes. If you would like information about how to prepare for hurricane season, please visit the Hurricane Preparedness Center, brought to you by Bounce Energy, a Texas electricity company. If you would like more information on these and more storms that have hit Texas, visit: Texas hurricane history or Texas Hurricane history pdf.

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