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Fisher sisters survive Galveston hurricane - The Iola Register, 21 Sep 1900

The Galveston Dispatch to the Kansas City Star this week gives a list of Kansas and Missouri people who survived the storm in that city. In the list of Iola people will be very glad to note the following names: Miss E. Fisher, Nannie A. Fisher, June H. Fisher, Lucy M. Fisher and L. E. Fisher, all of Iola. The Fisher sisters are running a hotel at that place, a large one, and this accounts for their all being safe.
(Ed - The hurricane referred to in the article is the Category 4 hurricane that hit Galveston, TX on 8 Sep 1900, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 of the island's 42,00 inhabitants. It remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
At the time of the storm the highest point in the city of Galveston was only 8.7 feet (2.7 m) above sea level. The hurricane brought with it a storm surge of over 15 feet (4.6 m) which washed over the entire island destroying all but the most solid structures. As severe as the damage to the city's buildings was, the human toll was even greater. Because of the destruction of the bridges to the mainland and the telegraph lines, no word of the city's destruction was able to reach the mainland.[At 11 a.m. on September 9, one of the few ships at the Galveston wharfs to survive the storm, the Pherabe, arrived in Texas City on the western side of Galveston Bay. It carried six messengers from the city. When they reached the telegraph office in Houston at 3 a.m. on September 10, a short message was sent to Texas Governor Joseph D. Sayers and U.S. President William McKinley: "I have been deputized by the mayor and Citizen's Committee of Galveston to inform you that the city of Galveston is in ruins."
Workers set out by rail and ship for the island almost immediately. Rescuers arrived to find the city completely destroyed. Roughly 20% of the island's population had lost their lives, with estimates ranging from 6,000 to 12,000 dead. Most had drowned or been crushed as the waves pounded the debris that had been their homes hours earlier. Many survived the storm itself but died after several days trapped under the wreckage of the city, with rescuers unable to reach them. The rescuers could hear the screams of the survivors as they walked on the debris trying to rescue those they could. A further 30,000 were left homeless.
The hotel managed by the Fisher sisters was the famous Tremont House bounded by Tremont, Church, and 24th streets. During the hurricane hundreds took refuge in the hotel. Clara Barton, organizer of the American Red Cross stayed there when she came to Galveston after the storm to assist disaster victims.)

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