Natural disasters can destroy everything in their path. But some communities have the strength to rebuild and rise from the ashes.
The U.S. has seen its share of hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, with some places wiped off the map, like Centralia, Pennsylvania. Yet many towns and cities refuse to give up and return stronger than ever.
We’ve chosen communities that faced immense challenges and still managed to recover. Some places didn’t make the list due to permanent damage or ongoing rebuilding efforts.
1. St. Louis, Missouri
It may be a thriving modern metropolis today, but the third-biggest tornado in history once ravaged St. Louis. On May 27, 1896, a devastating twister worked its way through the city and into East St. Louis, changing the landscape and causing damage that is estimated to equate to $700 million in today’s money.
Residents united in the rebuild, and just eight years later, St. Louis hosted the World’s Fair. The area is always at risk from the weather, but one look at present-day St. Louis makes it hard to imagine the devastating effects of 1896.
2. Paradise Coast, Florida
Many areas of Florida were devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017, but the Paradise Coast recovered quicker than most. The category five storm took out the power here, but one of the biggest issues concerned the subsequent flooding.
Less than three months after the event, Paradise Coast looked virtually unchanged from pre-Irma days. If you’d been asleep in the intervening period, you may have even felt that the Hurricane had bypassed this region.
3. Anchorage, Alaska
A monumental earthquake changed the face of Anchorage when it hit the city in 1964. It struck Prince William Sound at a magnitude of 9.2, a seismic measurement with drastic consequences. The effect was felt over a vast distance, but Anchorage was hit hardest, with landslides and the destruction of homes and city blocks.
Rebuilding began slowly, but the oil boom of 1968 helped to boost the funding effort. The reconstruction is now complete, and Anchorage has learned valuable lessons, becoming a center for monitoring and researching seismic activity.
4. Galveston, Texas
Galveston was faced with the task of recovering from the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. In 1900, the city was at the mercy of a category four storm that would destroy 80% of the area. The hurricane was mainly responsible for causing investors to switch to Houston, making that city a financial powerhouse.
The city restored essential services quickly before beginning a longer rebuild. In the present day, the economy of Galveston has turned around. At the same time, the Galveston Seawall, a coastal barrier built in the aftermath of the storm, has made it into the National Register of Historic Places.
5. Houston, Texas
Ironically, Houston took a little while to recover from its worst natural disaster. Hurricane Harvey had a devastating impact on the city in 2017, with many tourist attractions and local businesses temporarily closed. 68 people sadly died as a direct consequence of this Grade 4 storm.
Some buildings, including the Wortham Theater Center, have yet to reopen, but to be fair to the city’s residents, they worked hard to help Houston rebuild. Homes and businesses as a whole recovered quickly from the disaster.
6. Greensburg, Kansas
Tornadoes are measured by the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, and the highest level is five. An EF5 twister hit the residents of Greensburg on May 4, 2007. This extreme weather phenomenon laid waste to 95% of the town, causing $268 million in damages.
Not only was Greensburg rebuilt, the City Council took the opportunity to recover in the best possible way. Appropriately, this is now one of the greenest cities in the U.S., with solar panels and wind turbines powering a new and positive Greensburg.
7. Chicago, Illinois
A disaster of a different kind struck this city in 1871 when a small fire quickly spread to become the Great Fire of Chicago. The blaze raged for two days, destroying 3.3 miles of the city. Around 17,500 buildings were damaged, and approximately 300 people lost their lives.
It was a dark period in Chicago’s history, but the residents were resilient, participating in a project that would become known as the ‘Great Rebuilding.’ The fire also led to a response from the Chicago School, a group of architects whose influence can be seen in modern-day Chicago.
8. Johnstown, Pennsylvania
The American Red Cross came to the rescue when Johnstown needed them most. The area was devastated when the Great Flood of 1889 arrived here. Twenty million tons of water was unleashed on the town, and to put that in context, around the same levels pass over Niagara Falls every 36 minutes.
The Red Cross, founded in 1881, helped a vast rebuilding effort to help Johnstown recover, although the magnitude of the flood and the devastation that it caused will never be forgotten.
9. San Francisco, California
Rebuilding was inevitably slow, but the authorities and residents of San Francisco did a remarkable job. By 1915, hardly any visible damage remained.
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