On September 8 1900 the deadliest natural disaster to hit the US rammed into Galveston Island, a small strip of land off Texas. The category four hurricane killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people.

While hurricane Katrina is better known for the heartache it brought New Orleans, the death toll from that 2005 storm was far less, at 1,800. In Galveston bodies were uncovered at a rate of 70 a day for more than a month. Conventional burials were impossible and bodies were weighted to be buried at sea. More than 3,600 buildings – a third of the city – were destroyed by the 150mph winds and 15ft waves and the rest were left in ruins.