Their living conditions were very poor, shown by the condition of their houses. The hurricane moved directly over the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, strengthening as it did so. Er zog im September des Jahres über Guadeloupe, die Inseln über dem Winde, Puerto Rico, die Bahamas und Florida. Some examples of the impoverished towns included the Belle Glande and the Pahokee. [32] Bean City was also destroyed during the hurricane, but it was eventually rebuilt by Arthur Wells. The fact that they had very poor housing facilities made it very easy for the flood waters to destroy the houses, and sweep them to their deaths. [39], Outside of Florida, damage in the United States was minor from the hurricane. While crossing Florida, the system weakened significantly, falling to Category 1 intensity late on September 17. Though the storm still remains a historical disaster up to date, its impact on the black migrant communities has continued to be felt even as the present African American communities demand for recognition. In some homes, 20-30 people sought shelter inside and later stood on tables and chairs to remain above the water. The demand for canned vegetables to provide food to those involved in the World War I had encouraged the settlement of a very high number of people in the Everglades area. [16], While the hurricane was moving through the Bahamas, the Weather Bureau issued storm warnings from Miami to Titusville, later upgrading to a hurricane warning from Miami to Daytona Beach. [12], The storm was named the San Felipe II Hurricane because the eye of the cyclone made landfall on the Christian feast day of Saint Philip. ", "San Felipe–The Hurricane of September 13, 1928, at San Juan, P.R", 10.1175/1520-0493(1928)56<350:SFHOSA>2.0.CO;2, "The 1928 Hurricane and the Shaping of the Circum-Caribbean Region", "36 Lives Lost is Storm Toll Over Florida", "Few Buildings Escape Damage From Hurricane", "Memorial Web Page for the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane", "The Storm: 1928 Remembered (Teacher's Guide)", "Florida's Forgotten Storm: the Hurricane of 1928", "Span Blown Out By Storm, Fished From River and Replaced", "Storm Cannot Be Exaggerated Says Red Cross", "Storm Effects Told In Survey Made By Radio", "Storm Passes To North With Force Lessened", "Smack Around, Schooner Sinks During Storm", "Historical Vignettes: Chillingworth's Palm City Development", "$50,000 Damage Caused to Lakeland Property", "Jacksonville and Brunswick, Ga. are Whipped by Winds", "33 Known Dead in Storm Area; Troops to Aid", "Miami Prompt to Give Aid in Stricken Area", "Storm's path remains scarred after 75 years", "Florida Properties – African American History Month", "The Hurricane of 1928: Category 4 hurricane scarred Palm Beach", "Lake Okeechobee and The Okeechobee Waterway", "Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover Dike", https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=1928_Okeechobee_hurricane&oldid=4612274, Pages with citations using unsupported parameters, Wikipedia pages with incorrect protection templates, Hurricanes in the United States Virgin Islands, Hurricanes in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. A teenage boy was carried from the packinghouse to the Everglades Experiment Station in Belle Glade – a distance of about 8 mi (13 km). Robert Hazard, a resident of West Palm Beach, established the Storm of '28 Memorial Park Coalition Inc. to fight for recognition of the black victims of the storm. [2] The storm caused heavy damage throughout the Bahamas, mostly to property and crops. Between Sebring and Lake Wales, 200 telephone poles were toppled. At Woodlawn Cemetery, 69 bodies were buried, 61 of the white; a marble headstone was added later. [27], In Fort Myers, property damage was slight, limited mostly to scores of small boats and fishing smacks along the waterfront. Neither the black nor the white neighborhoods were spared by the storm, with the floods sweeping over 2,000 farm workers about 45 miles inland, leading to their deaths. The whites were in charge of the agricultural fields that were very productive [3]. They also put many people in poverty becasue they destroy many homes. [35] Offshore, the fishing smack Wallace A. McDonnell was beach near Piney Point, though all of the crew survived. Most of the food crops were destroyed. Reports say that 24,728 homes were destroyed and 192,444 were partially destroyed. (2016, Oct 13). Two boats were wrecked as they washed ashore in Grand Turk, although the crews were saved. The month of September, in 1928 the Okeechobee hurricane affected many areas, destroyed residents homes and killed many innocent people in … Forcing the black survivors to handle the dead bodies and to clear the canals and the debris-strewn roads have been considered as acts of cruelty. [2] In West Palm Beach, the storm destroyed 1,711 homes and damaged 6,369 others, and demolished 268 businesses and impacted 490 other businesses; the city suffered the worst damage, totaling just under $13.8 million. [2] Approximately 85%–95% of banana crops were destroyed, 70%–80% of tree crops suffered severe damage, and 40% of the sugar cane crop was ruined. Okee 1928 map.png 542 × … The events that followed after the hurricane was a clear indication of the racial segregation that existed amongst the Florida residents. Later that day, the hurricane restrengthened slightly over open waters, making a second United States landfall near Edisto Island, South Carolina at 19:00 UTC with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). [2] Miami Daily News, Monday, September 24, 1928, Miami Public Library. In September 1928, the hurricane first hit Palm Beach and the coastal residents were prepared to weather the storm. On September 12 it passed over Guadeloupe and then … [7] Barnes, J. [1], As the storm neared the Lesser Antilles, it continued to intensify. For instance, many African Americans have continued to demand for recognition of the black victims who died in the storm, just like the white victims. [18] Agricultural was impacted significantly, with the storm destroying what may have been the largest "citrus crop in the history of the industry". "You must agree to out terms of services and privacy policy", Don't use plagiarized sources. The Red Cross estimated the number of fatalities as 1,836, which was taken as the official count by the National Weather Service for many years (and exactly equal to the official count for Hurricane Katrina). Ten people drowned, but thirteen others survived by clinging to a barge or tree tops, while one woman tied herself to a telegraph pole. The city was severely affected, as were the other communities to the south of the lake, by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Others that survived were swept far away from where the building once stood or the barge. Throughout the island, 24,728 homes were destroyed and 192,444 were damaged, leaving over 500,000 people homeless. By comparison, the weaker 1899 Hurricane San Ciriaco killed approximately 3,000 people. At least 160 fatalities occurred in the city. Most of the homes were swept away into rows of pine trees and others more than half a mile (0.8 km) away. For instance, some survivors have been recorded to have become insane. San Felipe II is officially classified as Puerto Rico's biggest, worst, and most devastating hurricane to ever have impacted the island. The exploitation of the black migrant workers gives us an insight on the how race was used to the disadvantage of the blacks. An estimated 2,500 people lost their lives, while property and infrastructure costing millions of dollars was completely destroyed or damaged. Due to the scarcity of the caskets, the caskets were reserved only for the whites while the blacks’ bodies were buried in a mass grave without the caskets. They know that whole towns can be washed away in a matter … Buildings with well-constructed frames, and those made of steel, concrete, brick, or stone were largely immune to winds, and the use of shutters prevented damage to windows and the interior of the buildings. The marking of the mass grave was even forgotten, which made the area to be used as a sewage plant and for street extension much later. At least 2,500 people drowned, while damage was estimated at $25 million. [28] In Okeechobee County, homes along the lake were destroyed by the storm surge, while dwellings within the city of Okeechobee were severely impacted or demolished by winds of at least 90 mph (140 km/h). The effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida included at least 2,500 fatalities in the state of Florida, making this the second deadliest tropical cyclone in the history of the contiguous United States, behind only the 1900 Galveston hurricane. www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2003-09-o4-hurricane-usat_htm, [1] Doup, L.Okeechobee Sun-Sentinel .September 11, 1988.South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald, Monday, October 1, 1928, University of Miami, Fla. Otto G. Richter Library. Many people were affected greatly by this storm, sadly losing their lives, along with millions of dollars in structural damage. Damage in the city totaled about $150,000. In order to solve this problem, there is need to recognize that racial discrimination exists and it’s a problem that need to be addressed. 1928 Okeechobee hurricane is similar to these hurricanes: 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane, Hurricane Charlie (1951), Hurricane Isabel and more. Most of the vicitms of the 1928 hurricane near Lake Okeechobee that were buried at all were brought by the truckfull to West Palm Beach. Due to preparations, minimal damage or loss of life occurred, with 18 fatalities reported. Sorry, but copying text is forbidden on this website. [12] The hurricane was extremely large as it crossed Puerto Rico. Throughout the state, 32,000 households were left without telephone service and 400 poles were broken and about 2,500 others leaning. The hurricane destroyed a levee that protected the area. The prospering of the agricultural fields attracted many black workers into the area, in order to provide labor in the fields. The hurricane originated from a tropical depression that formed near Dakar, Senegal, on September 6. To many survivors, the impact of the hurricane on their lives was too much to bear since it led to great emotional and psychological suffering. Finally, the town was flooded severely during the storm and was subsequently abandoned. In Boynton Beach, about 75% of businesses suffered complete destruction. On September 16, 1928, a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 miles per hour tore through Palm Beach county Florida. In Delray Beach, four churches suffered severe damage and the Alta Repp and Seacrest hotels both lost a portion of their roof. The storm was first observed 900 miles (1450 km) to the east of Guadeloupe on September 10 by the S.S. Commack. This hurricane affected the islands in the south. Barnes, J. The blacks lived in shanties, which were usually built using scrap wood or the tarpaper. The storm continued through the Bahamas as a strong Category 4 hurricane, passing near Nassau at 10:00 UTC on September 16. Residents of Torry Island also did not have ample time to prepare for the storm. [9], While the storm was passing near Dominica, the San Juan, Puerto Rico Weather Bureau warned about the threat of the hurricane which would strike the island within a day or two. CONDITIONS IN STRICKEN AREA ARE GROWING WORSE EVERY MINUTES. The majority of the deaths that occurred during the hurricane were those of the African Americans[1]. According to some estimates of the day, excluding personal losses, the damages reached $85.312 million and over 500,000 people were left homeless. According to a ship report in the region, "The force of the wind... could only be judged by the noise made by the storm, which reminded me of the New York subway going full speed passing switches." Accelerating northeastward, the system quickly weakened into a tropical storm over North Carolina. 200 ALREADY BURIED IN OKEECHOBEE AREA; REPORTS DRIBBLE IN FROM OTHER SECTORS. In Martinique, further south of the storm's path, there were three fatalities. After this hurricane, Puerto Rico never regained its position as a major coffee exporter. [12], According to the San Juan National Weather Service office, the storm was "up to this time the greatest and more [sic] intense and destructive hurricane of record in Puerto Rico. [16] Only the hotel at Miami Locks survived the storm. [4] Miami Daily News, Tuesday, September 25, 1928, Miami Public Library. Of the Great Okeechobee/San Felipe Hurricane of September, 1928. (1998).Florida’s Hurricane History.The University of North Carolina Press, Doup, L.Okeechobee Sun-Sentinel .September 11, 1988.South Florida Sun-Sentinel, www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/search/sfl-1928-hurricane,0,3210460.story. In 2000, the West Palm Beach burial site was reacquired by the city of West Palm Beach and plans for construction of a memorial began. Floodwaters entered the building, forcing the occupants into the rafters. In “1928 - Okeechobee” by Liz Doup she writes, “Custard apple trees were uprooted and limbs torn lose. 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