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1928 Okeechobee Hurricane

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Storms

   CAPTION: 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
   Hurricane San Felipe Segundo

   Category 5 hurricane ( SSHS)
   Aftermath in West Palm Beach, Florida
   Aftermath in West Palm Beach, Florida
     __________________________________________________________________

   Formed September 6, 1928
   Dissipated September 20, 1928
   Highest
   winds
   160  mph (260  km/h) (1-minute sustained)
   Lowest pressure ≤929  mbar ( hPa)
   Damage $100 million (1928  USD) $800 million (2005 USD)
   Fatalities 4,075+
   Areas
   affected Lesser Antilles, Guadeloupe, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico,
   Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Eastern
   Seaboard
   Part of the
   1928 Atlantic hurricane season

   The Okeechobee Hurricane or Hurricane San Felipe Segundo was a deadly
   hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas,
   and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season. It was
   the first recorded hurricane to reach Category 5 status on the
   Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale in the Atlantic basin; as of 2006, it
   remains the only recorded hurricane to strike Puerto Rico at Category 5
   strength, and one of the ten most intense ever recorded to make
   landfall in the United States.

   The hurricane caused devastation throughout its path. As many as 1,200
   people were killed in Guadeloupe. Puerto Rico was struck directly by
   the storm at peak strength, killing at least 300 and leaving hundreds
   of thousands homeless. In south Florida at least 2,500 were killed when
   storm surge from Lake Okeechobee breached the dike surrounding the
   lake, flooding an area covering hundreds of square miles. In total, the
   hurricane killed at least 4,075 people and caused around $100 million
   ($800 million in 2005 US dollars) in damages over the course of its
   path.

Storm history

   Storm path
   Enlarge
   Storm path

   The storm was first observed 900 miles (1450 km) to the east of
   Guadeloupe on September 10 by the S.S. Commack. At the time, this was
   the most easterly report of a tropical cyclone ever received through
   ship's radio. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, hurricane analysis in the
   1990s determined the storm likely formed four days prior between the
   Cape Verde Islands and the coast of Africa.

   As the storm neared the Caribbean, it was already a Category 3
   hurricane. On September 12 it passed over Guadeloupe and then south of
   the other Leeward Islands; Guadeloupe reported a pressure of 27.76
   inHg (940  mbar), and a ship just south of St. Croix in the United
   States Virgin Islands reported it as an even stronger storm with a
   pressure of 27.50 inHg (931 mbar). On the 13th the storm struck Puerto
   Rico directly as a Category 5 hurricane, allegedly packing winds of
   160  mph (260 km/h); reliable reports from San Juan placed the wind
   speed at 125  knots (145 mph, 230 km/h), and a report from Guayama
   placed the pressure at 27.65 inHg (936 mbar).

   The 160 mph (260 km/h) wind measurement from Puerto Rico was taken by a
   cup anemometer in San Juan, 30 miles (50 km) north of the storm's
   centre, which measured 160 mph (260 km/h) sustained winds three hours
   before the peak wind speed was reached; however, the instrument was
   destroyed soon after and could not be calibrated. This unverified
   reading was the strongest wind measurement ever reported for an
   Atlantic hurricane up until that time; not until Hurricane Dog of 1950
   were stronger winds officially measured in an Atlantic storm, although
   some unmeasured storms like the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane may have been
   stronger. Because of this measurement, the Okeechobee storm is
   considered to be the first hurricane in the Atlantic basin ever to
   reach Category 5 intensity, the highest possible rating on the
   Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; although it is virtually certain that
   earlier hurricanes had achieved this strength (a likely candidate is
   the Great Havana Hurricane of 1846), none had ever had their winds or
   pressure recorded properly.

   The hurricane was also extremely large as it crossed Puerto Rico.
   Hurricane-force winds were measured in Guayama for 18 hours; since the
   storm is estimated to have been moving at 13 mph (21 km/h), the
   diameter of the storm's hurricane winds was estimated very roughly to
   be 234 miles (376 km).

   After leaving the Caribbean, the hurricane moved across the Bahamas as
   a strong Category 4 hurricane. It continued to the west-northwest, and
   made landfall in southern Florida on the evening of September 16.
   Atmospheric pressure at landfall was measured at 929 mbar (hPa) and
   winds "in excess" of 150 mph (240 km/h). The eye passed ashore in Palm
   Beach County near West Palm Beach, then moved directly over Lake
   Okeechobee.

   The hurricane's path turned northeast as it crossed Florida, taking it
   across northern Florida, eastern Georgia, and the Carolinas on
   September 19. It then moved inland and merged with a low-pressure
   system around Toronto on the 20th.

Impact

                                                   Storm Deaths by Region
                                        Region Deaths      Locale   Deaths
                                     Caribbean
                                   and Bahamas   1575  Martinique        3
                                                       Guadeloupe 600–1200
                                                       Montserrat       42
                                                      Puerto Rico      312
                                                          Bahamas       18
                                 United States  2500+     Florida    2500+
                                                            Total    4075+

Leeward Islands

   The hurricane moved directly over the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean,
   strengthening as it did so. On the island of Dominica winds were
   clocked at 24 mph (39 km/h); there were no reports of damages. In
   Martinique, even further south of the storm's path, there were three
   fatalities. Guadeloupe received a near-direct hit from the storm,
   apparently with little warning; the death toll there was 600–1200, and
   damage reports relayed through Paris indicated "great destruction" on
   the island. Montserrat, just north of the storm's centre, was warned in
   advance of the storm but still suffered £150,000 (1928 UKP) in damages
   and 42 deaths; Plymouth and Salem were devastated and crop losses
   caused near-starvation conditions before relief could arrive. The storm
   passed to the south of the islands of St. Kitts and St. Croix, which
   suffered heavy damages to property and crops but no reported
   fatalities. Damage reports from elsewhere in the Leeward Islands are
   not available.

Puerto Rico

   The island of Puerto Rico received the worst of the storm's winds when
   the hurricane moved directly across the island at Category 5 strength.
   The island knew of the storm's approach well ahead of time; by about 36
   hours in advance all police districts were warned and radio broadcasts
   provided constant warnings to ships. Effective preparation is credited
   for the relatively low death toll of 312, and amazingly not a single
   ship was lost at sea in the vicinity of Puerto Rico. By comparison, the
   weaker 1899 Hurricane San Ciriaco killed approximately 3,000 people.

   Property damage on the island from winds and rain, however, was
   catastrophic. The northeast half of the island received winds in excess
   of Category 3 strength, with hurricane-force winds lasting for as long
   as 18 hours. At least 10 inches (250 mm) of rain was dropped over the
   entire island, with much greater amounts of nearly 30 inches (750 mm)
   being received in some areas. Official reports stated that "several
   hundred thousand" people were left homeless, and property damages were
   estimated at $50 million ($400 million in 2005 US dollars).

   The storm is remembered in Puerto Rico as the San Felipe Hurricane
   because the eye of the cyclone made landfall on the Christian feast day
   of Saint Philip; the Latin American custom, since the Spanish colonial
   era began in 1492, was to name hurricanes upon their arrival after
   Catholic religious feast days. It was named "Segundo", Spanish for "the
   Second", because of another destructive "Hurricane San Felipe" which
   struck Puerto Rico on that very same day 52 years earlier.

Bahamas

   The eye of the hurricane passed just south of Grand Bahama as a strong
   Category 4 hurricane, again causing very heavy damage. According to a
   firsthand account from the island, it was the worst storm in memory to
   strike the area. As in Puerto Rico, however, authorities in the Bahamas
   were aware of the hurricane's passage well ahead of time, and
   preparations minimized the loss of life in the islands. The only report
   of fatalities was from a sloop lost at sea in the vicinity of Ambergris
   Cay with 18 on board.

South Florida

   Coastal damage in Florida near the point of landfall was catastrophic.
   Miami, well south of the point of landfall, escaped with very little
   damage; Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale suffered only slight damages.
   Northward, from Pompano Beach to Jupiter, buildings suffered serious
   damage from the heavy winds and 10 ft (3 meter) storm surge, which was
   heaviest in the vicinity of Palm Beach; total coastal damages were
   estimated as "several million" dollars. Because of well-issued
   hurricane warnings, residents were prepared for the storm, and the loss
   of life in the coastal Palm Beach area was only 26.
   Aftermath of the hurricane in southern Florida
   Enlarge
   Aftermath of the hurricane in southern Florida

   Inland, the hurricane wreaked much more widespread destruction along
   the more heavily populated coast of Lake Okeechobee. Residents had been
   warned to evacuate the low ground earlier in the day, but after the
   hurricane did not arrive on schedule, many thought it had missed and
   returned to their homes. When the worst of the storm crossed the lake —
   with winds measured on the ground at around 140  mph (225  km/h) — the
   south-blowing wind caused a storm surge to overflow the small dike that
   had been built at the south end of the lake. The resulting flood
   covered an area of hundreds of square miles with water that in some
   places was over 20 ft (6 m) deep. Houses were floated off of their
   foundations and dashed to pieces against any obstacle they encountered.
   Most survivors and bodies were washed out into the Everglades where
   many of the bodies were never found. As the rear eyewall passed over
   the area, the flood reversed itself, breaking the dikes along the
   northern coast of the lake and causing a similar but smaller flood.
   Approximate area of the flood
   Enlarge
   Approximate area of the flood

   Floodwaters persisted for several weeks, greatly impeding attempts to
   clean up the devastation. Burial services were quickly overwhelmed, and
   many of the bodies were placed into mass graves. Around 75% of the
   fatalities were migrant farm workers, making identification of both
   dead and missing bodies very difficult; as a result of this, the count
   of the dead is not very accurate. The Red Cross estimated the number of
   fatalities as 1,836, which was taken as the official count by the
   National Weather Service for many years; older sources usually list
   3,411 as the total count of fatalities, including the Caribbean.
   However, in 2003 this was revised as "at least" 2,500, making the
   Okeechobee hurricane the second-deadliest natural disaster in United
   States history behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (as of 2004).

   Thousands of people were left homeless in Florida; property damage was
   estimated at $25 million ($200 million in 2005 US dollars). It is
   estimated that if a storm like this were to strike in modern times (the
   year 2003), it would cause $18.7 billion in damages. However, a levee
   breach of this kind is unlikely to occur again because of the much
   larger Herbert Hoover Dike that now contains the waters of Lake
   Okeechobee.

Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

   Limited damage reports are available for the United States outside of
   southern Florida. The storm caused flooding in North Carolina and
   brought near-hurricane-force winds and a 7 foot (2.1 m) storm surge to
   the Norfolk area. Nonetheless, most sources agree that the hurricane
   caused only minimal damage in these areas.

Aftermath

Racial issues

   In Florida, although the hurricane destroyed everything in its path
   with impartiality, the death toll was by far highest in the
   economically poor areas in the low-lying ground right around Lake
   Okeechobee. Around 75% of the fatalities were from migrant farm
   workers, most of whom were black. Black workers did most of the
   cleanup, and the few caskets available for burials were mostly used for
   the bodies of whites; other bodies were either burned or buried in mass
   graves. Burials were segregated, and the only mass gravesite to receive
   a memorial contained only white bodies. The inequity has caused further
   racial friction that still exists today.

Improved building codes

   In the aftermath of the hurricane in coastal Florida, it became
   apparent that well-constructed buildings with shutters had suffered
   practically no damage from winds that caused serious structural
   problems to lesser buildings. Buildings with well-constructed frames,
   and those made of steel, concrete, brick, or stone were largely immune
   to winds, and the use of shutters prevented damage to windows and the
   interior of the buildings. Coming on the heels of the 1926 Miami
   Hurricane where a similar pattern had been noticed, one lasting result
   of the 1928 storm was improved building codes throughout south Florida.
   The result is that later storms of similar intensity, such as the 1947
   Fort Lauderdale Hurricane, caused substantially less damage than the
   hurricanes of the 1920s.

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