1926 Great Miami Hurricane

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)
Miami Beach after the 1926 Miami Hurricane Miami Beach after the 1926 Miami Hurricane
Formed	September 6, 1926
Dissipated	September 22, 1926
Highest winds	0 mph (0 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Lowest pressure	935 mbar (hPa; 0 inHg)
Fatalities	265 - 373
Damage	$100 million (1926 USD) $0 billion (2006 USD)
Areas affected	Bahamas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
Part of the 1926 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1926 Miami Hurricane (or Great Miami Hurricane or the Big Blow) was an intense hurricane that devastated Miami, Florida in September of 1926. The storm also caused significant damage in the Florida Panhandle, the U.S. state of Alabama, and the Bahamas. The storm's enormous regional economic impact helped end the Florida land boom of the 1920s and pushed the region on an early start into the Great Depression.

Storm history

The Cape Verde-type hurricane formed on September 6. Moving west-northwest while traversing the tropical Atlantic, the storm later passed near St. Kitts on September 14. By September 17 it was battering the Bahamas, impacting the Turks and Caicos Islands with winds estimated at 150 mph (240 km/h). [1] Then, in the early morning hours of September 18, it made landfall just south of Miami between Coral Gables and South Miami as a devastating Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The storm crossed the peninsula south of Lake Okeechobee, entered the Gulf of Mexico, and made another landfall near Mobile, Alabama as a Category 3 hurricane on September 20 before hooking westward along coastal Alabama and Mississippi, eventually dissipating on September 22 after moving inland over Louisiana.

Impact

In Florida, winds on the ground were reported around 125 mph and the pressure measured at 935 mbar (hPa) (though all such data is suspect). Most of the coastal inhabitants had not evacuated, partly because of short warning (a hurricane warning was issued just a few hours before landfall) and partly because the "young" city's population knew little about the danger a major hurricane posed. A 15 foot storm surge inundated the area, causing massive property damage and some fatalities. As the eye of the hurricane crossed over Miami Beach and downtown Miami, many people believed the storm had passed. Some tried to leave the barrier islands, only to be swept off of the bridges by the rear eyewall. "The lull lasted 35 minutes, and during that time the streets of the city became crowded with people," wrote Richard Gray, the local weather chief. "As a result, many lives were lost during the second phase of the storm."^[1]

Inland, Lake Okeechobee experienced a high storm surge that broke a portion of the dikes, flooding the town of Moore Haven and killing many. This was just a prelude to the deadly 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, which would cause a massive number of fatalities estimated at 2,500 around the lake.

Coastal regions between Mobile and Pensacola, Florida also suffered heavy damage from wind, rain, and storm surge, but this paled beside the news of the destruction in Miami.

According to the Red Cross there were 373 fatalities. Other estimates vary, since there were a large number of people listing as "missing". Between 25,000 and 50,000 people were left homeless, mostly in the Miami area.

The damage from the storm was immense; few buildings in Miami or Miami Beach were left intact. The toll for the storm was $100 million in 1926 dollars, just over $2 billion in 2005 dollars. It is estimated that if an identical storm hit in the year 2003, with modern development and prices, the storm would have caused over $98 billion in damage. [2]. After the hurricane, the Great Depression started in South Florida, slowing recovery.

In response to the widespread destruction of buildings on Miami Beach, John J. Farrey was appointed Chief Building, Plumbing and Electrical Inspector. He initiated and enforced the first building code in the United States, which more than 5000 US cities duplicated.^[2]

Aftermath

The University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, had been founded in 1925 and opened its doors for the first time just days after the hurricane passed. The hurricane had destroyed several buildings on campus and the University did not have the money to rebuild or to continue construction that was underway at the time. To make money and obtain building resources, the University decided to harvest coral from the campus- thus creating Lake Osceola. The coral was either sold or used as building material to complete construction around campus.

The University's mascot was named the Hurricanes in memory of this catastrophe. The mascot is represented by Sebastian, who is an Ibis. The Ibis is a small white bird that can be seen around south Florida and especially on the UM campus. An Ibis was selected to represent the hurricanes because it is typically the last bird to leave before a hurricane strikes and the first to return once its gone.

References

See also

• List of notable tropical cyclones
• List of notable Atlantic hurricanes

External links

• 1926 issue of the Monthly Weather Review
• United States Hurricane History
• NOAA hurricane lists
• The Hurricane of 1926
• Historic Images of Florida Hurricanes (Florida State Archives)