Florida's Most Horrific Storms
the storms from 2004 do not compare with the worst of nature's fury.
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Hurricane of 1928
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Florida's deadliest hurricane, and the third deadliest natural disaster in the U.S. |
September 6, 1928 |
Category 4 |
It was officailly unnamed when it hit, but now it is legend: The Great Hurricane of 1928 killed at least 2,00 when the waters of Lake Okeechobee spilled out and flooded lake towns.
The storm changed the way Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades were manged. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a 150-mile dike around the to protect people from future hurricanes, though none, yet, has been anywhere near as powerful as the 1928 hurricane.
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Labor Day Storm of 1935
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Most powerful storm ever to hit the United States |
September 2, 1935 |
Category 5 |
Experts estimate winds of 150 to 200 mph hit the Florida Keys, with gust exceeding 200 mph and a storm surge of 200 feet.
The winds destoryed the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks to the keys and killed at least 409 people including hundreds of World War 1 veterans who were building bridges as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal program
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Hurricane Andrew
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Costliest hurricane in history |
August 24, 1992 |
Category 5 |
Andrew smacked Homestead with top sustained winds of 165 mph. Andrew killed 26 people directly ( another 62 indirectly), and caused $15.5 billion in damage in 1992 dollars (more then $40 billion adjusted for 2004 inflation).
Hurricane Andrew is the second costilest catastrophe in U.S. history, after the Spetember 11th terrorist attacks, according to The Insurance Information Institute.
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How do the 2004 Storms compare?
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Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne combined are expected to cost insurers around $23 billion, according to the New York-based Insurance Information Institute. That's approximately half of their total cost, since insured damages are usually around half of the actual damages.
More then one of every five Florida homes got some hurricane damage, and more then 2 million insurance claims are expected to be filed. (After Andrew, 700,000 claims were filed.)
"These four storms are a much larger problem than Andrew was for the state," then-Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, whose position oversees insurance regulation, said at the time.
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What was this area's last big hurricane?
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It has been more than a half century since Palm Beach County suffered a major hurricane, at Category 3 or higher.
Fort Pierce hasn't had a direct hit from a major since 1933. Since that Aug. 27, 1949, storm, which killed 50 people, the combined population of Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties alone has grown nearly tenfold, from about 143,000 to about 1.5 million.
The storm passed directly over Palm Beach International Airport. It damaged 90 percent of Stuart's businesses and homes, 40 percent of them severely. Flooded crops and uprooted citrus trees left the region with $20 million, in 1949 dollars, in farm losses.
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Deadliest U.S. disaster: Galveston, Texas, hurricane of 1900, a Category 4 that killed 6,000 to 10,000
Las hurricane to kill 100-plus in the U.S.: Agnes, a category 1 that hit northwest Florida and the northeast U.S. in 1972.
Most U.S. deaths since Agnes: Floyd (1999), a category 2 that hit the Carolinas and New England and killed 69 people.
Last hurricane to strike Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast before 2004: David, a Category 1, in 1979
Last major hurricane to strike Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast before 2004: A Category 3 storm that killed 50 in 1949
Only hurricane to strike North Florida in the 20th century: Dora a Category 2 that struck Jacksonville in 1964.
Last major storm to hit Tampa Bay: An unnamed Category 4 that hit in 1921
Top winds of more than 200 mph: Camille (1969), which hit Mississippi. Camille, Andrew, and the 1935 Labor Day storm are the only Category 5 storms to strike the U.S.
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Other Hurricane Topics |
| Hurricane Tracking maps by area and Longitiude & Latitude click here |
| To see the strongest hurricane and see how they are ranked click here |
| Florida's most horrific storms and how they comapre to the 2004 storms and other notable storms click here |
| What to do before a hurricane comes and important phone numbers/websites click here |
| Palm Beach County Evacuation Zone Map From Jupiter to Boca Raton click here |
| Broward County Evacuation Zone Map click here |
| Food Safety before and during a Power Outage click here |
| Hurricanes' latent hazards tracked by poison centers click here |
| Hurricane Tracking and Hurricane Headlines click here |
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