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1926 Hurricanes

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1926 Hurricane by Anthea Carnes

Before the Storm

1. The Hurricane of 1926 came at the worst possible time for the city of Miami and became known as “The Great Miami Hurricane”. It was the roaring twenties; A time of prohibition, speakeasies, flapper girls, and jazz. Miami had been experiencing a boom economically and in population growth.

2. In the period between 1920 and 1923, the population of Miami itself had doubled. People from all over the United States came to South Florida to enjoy the warm climate, and sunny beaches. At the time of the storm, Miami's population stood at around 300,000. The new residents were optimistic, but unfamiliar with hurricanes, and not prepared for their effects.

3. Two years later in 1925, approximately
…show more content…

The "Great Miami" Hurricane was first spotted as a tropical wave located 1,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles on September 11th. The system moved quickly westward and intensified to hurricane strength as it moved to the north of Puerto Rico on the 15th. Winds were reported to be nearly 150 mph as the hurricane passed over the Turks Islands on the 16th and through the Bahamas on the 17th. Very little meteorological information about the approaching hurricane was available to the Weather Bureau in Miami. At that time there were only a few ship reports to tell of its existence. As a result, hurricane warnings were not issued until midnight on September 18th, which gave the residents of South Florida little notice of the impending …show more content…

Many casualties occurred during the eye of the storm, while there was a half-hour lull in the weather conditions. Most residents had never experienced a hurricane, and believed that the storm had passed. They emerged from their places of refuge out into the city streets. The lull lasted only about 35 minutes, during which the streets became crowded with people. Residents began returning to the mainland from Miami Beach and were struck while driving over the causeway. This was considered the worst part of the hurricane, with onshore southeasterly winds bringing a 10 foot storm surge onto Miami Beach and the barrier islands. The majority of deaths associated with the hurricane occurred after its eye had passed over the city, because the residents’ misinterpreted the lull in hurricane conditions as the end of the storm.

11. Here is a truly amazing story of survival. A young girl had been driving on the causeway during the eye of the storm. Lived through this car wreck, was rescued, and gave birth to her baby on the causeway.

12. Many cars can be seen stopped in the flood water. The waterfront was flooded by 3-5 ft of water and every building in the downtown district of Miami was damaged or


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