1928 Okeechobee hurricane
The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, also called the San Felipe hurricane, was a very bad tropical cyclone. Almost 4,100 people died in the northeast Caribbean, Puerto Rico and southeast Florida to North Carolina. This hurricane had wind close to Category 5 level when it hit Puerto Rico, when it was also a large hurricane. Over 2,500 people died in the United States, making the storm one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history at that time. It struck Florida at Category 4 levels.[1][2]
| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
 Surface weather analysis of the storm nearing Puerto Rico | |
| Formed | September 6, 1928 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 21, 1928 |
| (Extratropical after September 19) | |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤ 929 mbar (hPa); 27.43 inHg |
| Fatalities | 4,000+ |
| Damage | $100 million (1928 USD, $1.4 billion in 2017) |
| Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Guadeloupe, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, United States East Coast, Atlantic Canada |
| Part of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The hurricane hit the coast in Palm Beach County, Florida and damaged many buildings. But then it went inland. It caused the waters of Lake Okeechobee to rise ten feet. The lake flooded 75 miles of Florida. Because people were not prepared for the flood, many died. Dead bodies lay in the hot Florida sun for days.[1] Sometimes whole families were killed, so no one was left to identify the bodies.[2]
After the hurricane, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a large dike near Lake Okechobee to stop future floods.[2]
| 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 3 |
| Dissipated | September 6 |
| Highest winds | 160 mph |
| Areas Affected | Lesser Antilles Puerto Rico
Hispaniola Bahamas Florida Georgia the Carolinas. |
1928 Okeechobee Hurricane Media
Hurricane-force winds drove this 10-foot (3.0 m) piece of 2x4 lumber through a palm tree in Puerto Rico.
A montage the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
Approximate area of the flood. Note: The Palm Beach County label is misplaced. North of Canal Point has been in Martin County since 1925.
Aftermath of the hurricane in southern Florida
Storm total precipitation for September 15–19, 1928
Burial of victims in West Palm Beach
Historical marker at the mass grave in West Palm Beach
The historical marker added to the memorial site in 2003, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the storm
A sign advertising the completion of the Hoover Dike
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Related pages
- Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, showing the difference between different categories of hurricanes
- Hurricane Maria
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nick Merianosi (September 16, 2020). 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane: Florida's Deadliest Natural Disaster. Bay News 9. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/weather/2020/09/16/2-500-floridians-killed-from-okeechobee-hurricane-92-years-ago-today. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nicole Sterghos Brochu (September 14, 2003). Florida's forgotten storm: The Hurricane of 1928. Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-ahurricane14sep14-story.html. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
