1928 Okeechobee hurricane

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1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
Hurricane San Felipe Segundo
Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Aftermath in West Palm Beach, Florida
FormedSeptember 6, 1928
DissipatedSeptember 20, 1928
Highest winds1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h)
Lowest pressure≤ 929 mbar (hPa); 27.43 inHg
Fatalities4,078+
Damage$100 million (1928 USD)
Areas affectedLesser 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. The storm directly struck Puerto Rico 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 4,078 people and caused around $100 million ($1 billion 2006 US dollars) in damages over the course of its path.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

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.[1] 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.[2]

As the storm neared the Caribbean, it was already a Category 3 hurricane.[2] 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).[1] On the 13th the storm struck Puerto Rico directly as a Category 5 hurricane, allegedly packing winds of 160 mph (260 km/h);[2] 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).[1] 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 center, 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.[2] 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).[3] 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 (or early on September 17 Universal Time).[2] Initially, Richard Gray of the U.S. Weather Bureau was optimistic that the storm would spare the south Florida region.[4] Atmospheric pressure at landfall was measured at 929 mbar (hPa) and maximum sustained winds near 150 mph (240 km/h).[2][5] The eye passed ashore in Palm Beach County near West Palm Beach,[6] then moved directly over Lake Okeechobee.[2] Peak gusts were estimated near 160 mph (260 km/h) at Canal Point, Florida.[1] 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.[2]

Impact

Storm Deaths by Region
Region Deaths Locale Deaths
Caribbean
and Bahamas 		1575[7] Martinique 3
Guadeloupe 600–1200
Montserrat 42[8]
Nevis 3[9]
Puerto Rico 312
Bahamas 18
United States 2500+[10] Florida 2500+
Total 4078+

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.[1] In Martinique, even further south of the storm's path, there were three fatalities.[7] Guadeloupe received a near-direct hit from the storm, apparently with little warning; the death toll there was 600–1200,[7] and damage reports relayed through Paris indicated "great destruction" on the island.[1]

Montserrat, just north of the storm's center, 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.[8] 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.[1] Nevis did report three deaths due to the storm, though.[9] Damage reports from elsewhere in the Leeward Islands are not available.

Puerto Rico

Deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
Rank Hurricane Season Fatalities
1  ?  "Great Hurricane" 1780 22,000–27,501
2  5  Mitch 1998 11,374+
3  2  Fifi 1974 8,210–10,000
4  4  "Galveston" 1900 8,000–12,000
5  4  Flora 1963 7,193
6  ?  "Pointe-à-Pitre" 1776 6,000+
7  5  "Okeechobee" 1928 4,112+
8  ?  "Newfoundland" 1775 4,000–4,163
9  3  "Monterrey" 1909 4,000
10  4  "San Ciriaco" 1899 3,855

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 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.[3]

However, property damage on the island from winds and rain was catastrophic. The northeast portion of the island received winds in excess of Category 3 strength, with hurricane-force winds lasting as long as 18 hours. At least 10 inches (250 mm) of rain fell over the island, with greater amounts of nearly 30 inches (750 mm) received in some areas. Official reports stated "several hundred thousand" people were left homeless, and property damages were estimated at $50 million ($400 million in 2005 US dollars).[11][3]

The storm is remembered in Puerto Rico (and Latin America) 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 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.[1]

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. In Fort Lauderdale, numerous power lines and telephone wires were downed.[12] Northward, from Pompano Beach to Jupiter, buildings suffered serious damage from the heavy winds and 10 ft (3 m) storm surge, which was heaviest in the vicinity of Palm Beach; total coastal damages were estimated as "several million" dollars.[1] In West Palm Beach, more than 1,711 homes were destroyed, while the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse's mortar was reportedly "squeezed ...like toothpaste" between the bricks during the storm, swaying the tower seventeen inches off the base.[13] Because of well-issued hurricane warnings, residents were prepared for the storm, and the number of lives lost in the coastal Palm Beach area was only 26.[1]

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.[14] 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. Note: The Palm Beach County label is misplaced. North of Canal Point has been in Martin County since 1925.

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 hurricane's total count of fatalities, including the Caribbean. However, in 2003 the U.S. death count 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. A mass grave at the Port Mayaca Cemetery east of Port Mayaca contains the bodies of 1,600 victims of the hurricane.[15]

Thousands of people were left homeless in Florida; property damage was estimated at $25 million ($200 million in 2005 US dollars). It is estimated if a similar storm were to strike in modern times (the year 2003), it would cause $18.7 billion in damages. The cyclone remains one of three Atlantic hurricanes to strike the southern mainland of Florida with a central pressure below 940 mbar (27.76 inHg), the others being the 1926 Miami hurricane and Hurricane Andrew of 1992.[16]

Elsewhere

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.[17] Nonetheless, most sources agree that the hurricane caused only minimal damage in these areas.[1]

Aftermath

Costliest U.S. Atlantic hurricanes, 1900–2017
Direct economic losses, normalized to societal conditions in 2018[18]
Rank Hurricane Season Cost
1  4  "Miami" 1926 $235.9 billion
2  4  "Galveston" 1900 $138.6 billion
3  3  Katrina 2005 $116.9 billion
4  4  "Galveston" 1915 $109.8 billion
5  5  Andrew 1992 $106.0 billion
6  ET  Sandy 2012  $73.5 billion
7  3  "Cuba–Florida" 1944  $73.5 billion
8  4  Harvey 2017  $62.2 billion
9  3  "New England" 1938  $57.8 billion
10  4  "Okeechobee" 1928  $54.4 billion
Main article: List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes

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.[19][20] The inequity has caused ongoing racial friction that still exists. The effects of the hurricane on black migrant workers is dramatized in Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God

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.[21]

Flood control

A sign advertising the completion of the Hoover Dike.

To prevent a recurrence of disasters like this one and the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, the Florida State Legislature created the Okeechobee Flood Control District, which was authorized to cooperate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in flood control undertakings.[22] After a personal inspection of the area by President Herbert Hoover, the Corps drafted a new plan which provided for the construction of floodway channels, control gates, and major levees along Lake Okeechobee's shores. A long term system was designed for the purpose of flood control, water conservation, prevention of saltwater intrusion, and preservation of fish and wildlife populations.[22] One of the solutions was the construction of the Herbert Hoover Dike. Today, concerns related to the dike's stability have grown in response to studies indicating long term problems with "piping" and erosion. Leaks have been reported after several heavy rain events. Proposed solutions to the dike's problems have included the construction of a seepage berm on the landward side of the dike, with the first stage costing approximately $67 million (USD).[23]

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Charles L. Mitchell (1928). "The West Indian Hurricane of September 10–20, 1928" (PDF). U.S. Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-13. Cite error: The named reference "mwr-westindian" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hurricane Research Division (2007). "Atlantic hurricane best track". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  3. ^ a b c Oliver L. Fassig (1928). "San Felipe–The Hurricane of September 13, 1928, at San Juan, P.R." (PDF). U.S. Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  4. ^ Kleinberg, p. 70
  5. ^ David A. Glenn (2005). "A Reanalysis of the 1916, 1918, 1927, 1928, and 1935 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Basin" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  6. ^ Kleinberg, p. 87
  7. ^ a b c National Hurricane Center (1995/1997). "The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  8. ^ a b William G. Innanen. "A Condensed History of Montserrat". Retrieved 2006-02-27.
  9. ^ a b Hubbard, Vincent K. (2002). Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis. Corvallis, Oregon
  10. ^ Chris Landsea, NHC. "FAQ E12: For the USA, what are the 30 highest death toll hurricanes on record?". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  11. ^ U.S. Southern Command. "Hurricane Preparedness: History". U.S. Army. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  12. ^ "Storm Hits City Sunday". Fort Lauderdale Daily News. 1928. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  13. ^ Barnes, p. 129
  14. ^ Jeff Klinkenberg (1992-07-12). "A storm of memories". St. Petersburg Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Brochu, Nicole Sterghos (2003). "Florida's Forgotten Storm: the Hurricane of 1928". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  16. ^ Hurricane Research Division (2008). "All U.S. Hurricanes (1851-2007)". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  17. ^ David Roth and Hugh Cobb. "Virginia Hurricane History". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  18. ^ Weinkle, Jessica; et al. (2018). "Normalized hurricane damage in the continental United States 1900–2017". Nature Sustainability. 1: 808–813. doi:10.1038/s41893-018-0165-2.
  19. ^ Deborah Sharp (2003-09-04). "Storm's path remains scarred after 75 years". USA Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Eliot Kleinberg (2003-06-01). "The storm of 1928: Dead-on devastation". Palm Beach Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Betty Nelander (2008). "The Hurricane of 1928: Category 4 hurricane scarred Palm Beach". Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  22. ^ a b "Lake Okeechobee and The Okeechobee Waterway". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Florida Operations Office. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  23. ^ "Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover Dike" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District. Retrieved 2008-08-03.

Bibliography

  • Eliot Kleinberg. (2003) Black Cloud: The Great Florida Storm of 1928. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-1146-9

External links

Template:Commons2

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