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| Flagler Boulevard under water 1928 Florida State Archives/Florida Memory |
By Jane Feehan
The Hurricane of 1928 or Okeechobee hurricane is ranked as the second deadliest in U.S. history, topped only by the 1900 Galveston hurricane, which killed about 8,000.
The 1928 storm spun off the African coast near Cape Verde in early September. It gathered strength crossing the Atlantic, then slammed into Guadaloupe, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, killing 900. During the early evening hours of September 16, the 130-mile-wide storm barreled into the Florida coast between Jupiter and Boca Raton.
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| Coffins Belle Glade 1928 Florida State Archives/Florida Memory |
A storm surge 10-20 feet hit Palm Beach as the hurricane tramped westward into the farming region of Lake Okeechobee. Winds were estimated at 145 mph. Some say gusts measured up to 160 mph. A barometer in West Palm Beach plunged to 27.43, the lowest ever recorded to that time. A category 4 storm, it pushed water out of Lake Okeechobee into an area 75 miles long and six feet deep. The six-foot mud dike bordering the lake succumbed easily to the storm’s wrath.
The first day after the storm 50 people were estimated dead. (Population of South Florida then was about 50,000.) The official record eventually grew to more than 1,800 but many knew that number was inaccurate. In the blistering sun, the dead were buried quickly in mass graves. One of the mass graves was dug at Tamarind Avenue and 25th Street in West Palm Beach and now bears a State of Florida historical marker. Three fourths of the dead were non-white farm workers. (Well-known Fort Lauderdale builder Ed King, living at the lake, died as he tried to rescue two children.)
For years, farmers in the area continued to uncover human bones left by the 1928 hurricane – enough to justify a corrected death toll. In 2003 the official death number was raised to 2,500. Many say there were more who perished … all say the toll will never be known.
The mud dike was replaced by a 30-foot wall, the Hoover Dike (President Hoover visited). It hasn’t been tested by a category 4 or 5 hurricane and is in need of frequent maintenance. The storm caused $25 million in damage or $16 billion in today’s dollars. Hurricane Katrina’s damage was well over $100 billion.
The first day after the storm 50 people were estimated dead. (Population of South Florida then was about 50,000.) The official record eventually grew to more than 1,800 but many knew that number was inaccurate. In the blistering sun, the dead were buried quickly in mass graves. One of the mass graves was dug at Tamarind Avenue and 25th Street in West Palm Beach and now bears a State of Florida historical marker. Three fourths of the dead were non-white farm workers. (Well-known Fort Lauderdale builder Ed King, living at the lake, died as he tried to rescue two children.)
For years, farmers in the area continued to uncover human bones left by the 1928 hurricane – enough to justify a corrected death toll. In 2003 the official death number was raised to 2,500. Many say there were more who perished … all say the toll will never be known.
The mud dike was replaced by a 30-foot wall, the Hoover Dike (President Hoover visited). It hasn’t been tested by a category 4 or 5 hurricane and is in need of frequent maintenance. The storm caused $25 million in damage or $16 billion in today’s dollars. Hurricane Katrina’s damage was well over $100 billion.
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| Lantana 1928 hurricane Florida State Archives |
According to the National Hurricane Center’s publication, The Deadliest, Costliest, and most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2006, “sociologists estimate that people only remember the worst effects of a hurricane for about seven years.” An exception to that may be the Lake Okeechobee farmers who came across so many human remains for decades after the disaster.
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Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan
Sources:
National Hurricane Center:
THE DEADLIEST, COSTLIEST, AND MOST INTENSE UNITED STATES TROPICAL CYCLONES FROM 1851 TO 2010 (AND OTHER FREQUENTLY REQUESTED HURRICANE FACTS), 2007.
3. McIver, Stuart. Glimpses of South Florida History. Miami: Florida Flair Books, 1988.
Tags: Florida hurricane history, Florida history, Ed King, Lake Okeechobee