A pathway has been opened amid piles of rubble in Galveston, Texas, after the island city suffered the greatest natural disaster in U.S. history on September 8, 1900. Days earlier, residents of the city were warned of an approaching hurricane. It moved in swiftly on September 8, bringing torrents of rain and raising water levels drastically. By nightfall, winds reached 125 mph and the city was under 15 feet of water. Some 8,000 people were killed in Galveston by flying debris, collapsing buildings and drowning. The storm let up around midnight, leaving in its wake $30 million in damage and thousands of bodies. Many of the dead had to be hastily dumped in the ocean for fear of spreading disease.
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