Remembering the Galveston Hurricane

September 8, 2025, marked the 25th anniversary of the Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD); a milestone we couldn’t imagine when EPOD was conceived back in 2000. Our first ‘photo’ was actually a NASA satellite image. See below. It took a little while before our readers began to contribute their own photos, but soon they did. Now, some 6,000 photos (and images and illustrations) are in our Archives. We’re extremely grateful to all of our photographers, and of course our readers, for making our site an enduring success. Please see the important note below the caption.

Provided by: NASA/GSFC, NOAA
Summary authors & editors: Amber Kerr; Jim Foster

One hundred years ago today, an unnamed hurricane swept across the Gulf of Mexico and obliterated the city of Galveston, Texas. Over 6,000 people died; it was the worst natural disaster in US history. Though of course we don't have satellite images from back then, it probably looked a lot like this picture of Hurricane Andrew, ninety-two years later (GOES-7 and AVHRR composite image).

It's hard to imagine the terror this hurricane caused. Survivors' stories tell of a twenty-foot storm surge that roared over Galveston, which was only eight feet above sea level. People survived by clinging to floating debris. Most hurricane deaths result from storm surges and flooding, not the powerful winds. The Galveston hurricane likely reached a category four on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, with winds estimated at 135 mph. At the turn of the last century, Galveston was the fourth-largest city in the southern US, but when dawn broke on September 9, there was nothing left of the once-prosperous city but a pile of rubble.

After the tragedy of 1900, Galveston residents were determined to protect what remained of their city. They built a 10-mile-long seawall, specially designed to dissipate wave energy. They also raised the level of the city by 20 feet - a huge project. In order to do this, each building that survived the hurricane had to be jacked up and filled under with sand.

Related Links:

• GOES Overview and History
• 30th Anniversary of GOES-7
• AVHRR instrument
• Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
• Hurricane Fuel in the Gulf of Mexico: 2 Loop Current Eddies
• Map of the hurricane's path
• The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900
• A “Bulwark Against the Sea” — the Galveston Seawall
• What is a hurricane?

 

Unfortunately, EPOD will be ending at the end of this month (September 30). A number of circumstances have led to this decision, prompted by the impending loss of the platform (Typepad) used to post photos onto our blog. Typepad will cease operation in a few weeks. It hasn’t allowed us to routinely post any EPODS since the first week of September. Additionally, submissions have dropped off significantly over the past several years. So, we feel that after ¼ century, it’s time to move on.

The company that’s supported EPOD since the beginning, USRA, has assured us that they’ll move all of our content (Archives) away from Typepad to a secure server, so it won’t be lost as Typepad fades away. We’ll work with USRA to figure a way to make this content available to everyone, anytime they want it.

Worth mentioning, we’ve signed a contract with a publisher interested in turning some of the most popular EPODs over the years into an Electronic Book. We’ll provide more information about this later in the month before we say goodbye.

What especially concerned us was that Typepad would suddenly crash (it’s been quite fragile for the past year or two) and that’s how EPOD would end – with no final communications to or from our loyal readers and contributors. At least now, we’re able to say, ‘Thank You!’ to everyone.

Jim Foster, Stu Witmer, Erin Senoz