I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900

The city of Galveston, Texas, was booming. Perched on an island off the southern coast of Texas, Galveston had been foundedin the 1830s. By 1900, it was Texas's richest and most important city. Boats loaded up with American cotton and wheat steamedfrom Galveston to countries around the world. Arriving ships were crowded with immigrants. The streets, paved with crushedoyster shells, sparkled like they'd been sprinkled with diamonds. True, this glittering city was prone to flooding. But just a few years before, a weather forecaster had said the idea of a hurricanestriking Galveston was absurd. So when a storm started brewing on September 8, 1900, no one believed it would be any worse than previous storms. Theygathered on the beach to cheer on the wild waves. But what started as entertainment soon turned into a nightmare as those wildwaves crashed into the city. By morning, hundreds of homes were destroyed. Eight thousand people were dead. The city had allbut disappeared. In this thrilling installment of Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series, one child finds safety only to headback into the treacherous waters to make sure his neighbors are safe.