On September 8, 1900, a hurricane sent an 8-foot high wave crashing into the city of Galveston, Texas. At that time, Galveston was the state's largest city with 36,000 residents. This hurricane killed 6,000-8,000 people and is considered to be the worse natural disaster in U.S. history. After the hurricane, the city asked retired Army engineer Henry Robert to design a seawall that would be seven miles long and seventeen feet high. Robert designed the wall as asked and also raised the city by pumping sand underneath the buildings. In 1915, the seawall was tested by another hurricane. This time, all but 8 people survived.

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