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…
$60 million dollars worth of buildings in the form of homes and business were constructed.
4. New buildings were being constructed on Miami Beach, which had been built across Biscayne Bay on a series of barrier islands that were previously mangroves.
The Path of the storm
5.
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…
disaster.
6. The Category 4 hurricane's eye moved directly over Miami Beach and downtown Miami during the morning hours of the 18th. This cyclone produced the highest sustained winds ever recorded in the United States at the time, and the barometric pressure fell to 27.61 inches as the eye passed over Miami. A storm surge of nearly 15 feet was reported. At the height of the storm surge, the water from the Atlantic extended all the way across Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay into the city of Miami for several blocks.
7. The town of Moore Haven on the south side of Lake Okeechobee was completely flooded by lake surge from the hurricane. By midmorning on Saturday, September 18, the weakened muck dike that had been constructed to protect Moore Haven had broken in several places. Lake water continued to rise higher into the town, sweeping through buildings and moving them off of their foundations. Hundreds of people in Moore Haven were killed by this surge, which left behind floodwaters in the town for weeks afterward.
8. The hurricane continued northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico and approached Pensacola on September 20th. The storm stalled to the south of Pensacola later that day and buffeted the central Gulf Coast with 24 hours of heavy rainfall, hurricane force winds, and storm surge. Almost every boat, wharf, pier or warehouse situated on Pensacola Bay was destroyed. The hurricane weakened as it moved inland over Louisiana later on the 21st.
The Impact of the Storm
9. Devastation throughout Miami was clearly evident after the hurricane. The death toll from this hurricane was very high and economic loss was substantial. According to the National Hurricane Center, the Great Miami hurricane of 1926 is the 76th most deadly storm. A Red Cross report lists 373 deaths and 6,381 injuries as a result of the hurricane. The death toll is uncertain since more than 800 people were missing in the aftermath of the hurricane. However, when including the surrounding areas, the actual death toll is believed to be over 1,000.
10.
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
destroyed.
13. Boats of all sizes were brought onto the city streets. A huge tidal wave carried this great schooner 200 yards from the waterfront.
14. Some buildings were completely destroyed, others lost their roofs.
15. Many people lost their homes.
16. Miami’s prestigious oceanfront hotels were filled with sand. Damages were estimated at $105 million, which would be more than $1.7 billion in today's dollars. No storm in previous history had done as much property damage. Hurricane experts claim that a storm of equal magnitude, taking an identical path today, would cause $157 billion in damage, twice that of the destruction from Hurricane Katrina.
17. To commemorate “The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926” the National Weather Service and the Old Post Office LLC installed this State of Florida historical marker in downtown Miami.
The Great Miami hurricane of 1926 ended the economic boom in South Florida and the city of Miami began experiencing the Great Depression three years earlier than the rest of the country. Thousands of lives were lost and millions of dollars in property damages were caused. The Great Miami hurricane of 1926 was truly devastating and won’t soon be forgotten. Now let’s take a look at another tragic hurricane that occurred just two years later.