The Hurricane of 1928, Fla. Okeechobee: One of the Deadliest in No. American History

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Sat Sep 7, 2019, 08:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Heritage/PBS (27 mins). The Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin. It struck two years after the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, and one year before the Wall Street Crash of Oct. 1929. After moving through the Caribbean islands and taking approximately 2,000 lives, the huge storm moved over Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 16. It is estimated that the Hurricane of 1928 cost an estimated 2,500 lives in Florida and major loss of property. https://www.weather.gov/mfl/okeechobee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_Okeechobee_hurricane

(NWS/NOAA). In September, 1928, only about 50,000 persons lived in South Florida. The land and real estate boom of the early 1920s was already beginning to fade, although many subdivisions and new communities were still being built. The devastating Great Miami Hurricane of September, 1926, had already sounded a loud alarm to the new residents about the vulnerability of their new homes to tropical cyclones..

The City of Palm Beach, founded only 34 years earlier by Henry Flagler, was incorporated in 1911 and had become a playground for the rich and famous, while West Palm Beach grew up on the opposite side of Lake Worth as a place where the support staff lived. The Atlantic breezes were balmy and the climate was warm. On the opposite side of the county, a quite different situation was emerging. The rich, black muck soil near Lake Okeechobee was already being utilized for its tremendous agricultural productivity. A rural, agrarian society, dependent on migrant labor, was plowing and harvesting along the shores of the lake behind a hastily built muck levee.

The 1928 Hurricane formed off the coast of Africa in early September. It churned across the Atlantic, and devastated the island of Guadeloupe on September 12, moved through the Virgin Islands, and struck a direct hit on Puerto Rico on the 13th, El Día de San Felipe. More than 300 persons were killed by this storm in Puerto Rico..More, https://www.weather.gov/mfl/okeechobee



- Damage from the 1928 Hurricane in So. Florida.

- (Wiki) Hurricane of 1928, Racial Issues: In Florida, although the hurricane's destruction affected everything in its path, the death toll was by far the highest and the aftermath the worst in the economically poor areas in the low-lying ground near Lake Okeechobee, such as the towns of Belle Glade, Chosen, Pahokee, South Bay, and Bean City. Around 75% of the fatalities were among migrant farm workers, most of whom were black. The black workers did most of the post-hurricane cleanup work. Reflecting racial and class discrimination, authorities reserved the few caskets available for burials for the bodies of whites. White victims received a formal burial service, although in a mass grave, at Woodlawn Cemetery in downtown West Palm Beach. This was the only mass gravesite to receive a timely memorial.

In contrast, the bodies of black victims were burned in funeral pyres or thrown into mass burial sites such as the ones in West Palm Beach and Port Mayaca. 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. 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. The site was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and a state historical marker was added in 2003 during events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the hurricane.

African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston explored the effects of the hurricane on black migrant workers in her seminal 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is her best-known work and it was included on TIME magazine's 2005 list of the '100 best English-language novels published since 1923'...More, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_Okeechobee_hurricane



- Memorial marker for mass burial site of the 1928 Hurricane added in 2003.

[mbusby]

1. The Galveston, Texas hurricane of 1900...

...was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, between 6000 and 12000 killed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane

[appalachiablue]

2. Horrible TX hurricane I've read about and followed in documentaries.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. My parents lived on Lake Okeechobee for 20 some years. Sold their

place in 1996.

[appalachiablue]

4. On the list for the next trip, usually we're rushed to visit

areas south and north. Hope the LO waters and ecology are doing ok and there's not too much a problem with algae, etc.

[Ligyron]

5. Almost everybody spending time in the Palm Beaches has heard about this storm.

The "No Name" storm that killed so many people out in "The Glades" as they were called. Most of the generation that had any first hand experience have long passed on by now. The mass burial site on Tamarind Ave was news to me though and good for the gentleman who fought for its well deserved recognition.

They've improved those dikes surrounding Lake Okeechobee considerably since then and hopefully they'll hold back the waters in the next big storm.

The pictures of Hudgin's Seafood brought back memories of the many great meals I had as a kid back there in the 60's at the adjoining restaurant. Everybody in town bought seafood there.

Thanks for putting this up!

[appalachiablue]

6. The Sunshine State has provided many wonderful, diverse experiences

to us. I've seen a good deal there in the way of natural beauty and charm, love what's left of 'Old Florida' too. Next time, the OK area is on the agenda for sure. Glad you followed the film narration and those interviewed.