Mostly known for its breath-taking views and sandy beaches, Florida is also the place of deadly hurricanes. It has been hit by hurricanes more often than any of the other states. There also has been more damage and more loss of life collectively, in Florida than in other states according to Dan Kottlowski, the meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Hurricanes caused damage and casualties that displaced hundreds of people from their homes, and the damages can add up to billions of dollars. The most powerful or worst hurricanes to date include the hurricane Andrew, Miami, Okeechobee and the Labour Day Hurricane.
Labour Day Hurricane
The Labour Day Hurricane took place in 1935 and is the strongest hurricane to cause landfall in terms of wind and pressure. The maximum winds were estimated at 185 mph, and the storm surge neared 20 feet. In the Labour Day Hurricane reported fatalities totalled 409 which included 259 veterans of World War one working on the railway connecting the Keys. Every tree and building in Matecumbe Key was completely destroyed.
It is one of the most recent category five hurricanes in the US, during Hurricane Andrew the winds neared 165 mph in August 1992. More than 25,524 houses in Florida were destroyed not including damaged houses totalling 101,241. During Hurricane Andrew, 99.2% of mobile homes in Homestead were completely destroyed, and the storm tide neared 17 feet at the headquarters of the Burger King. Damaged estimated due to the hurricane was estimated at $25 billion measure to the value of the USD in 1992 in Florida only.
Miami Hurricane took place in 1926 and was one of the most intense cyclists that completely devasted Miami. It tracked from the north to the south of Florida and caused destruction and death. In damages, it caused more than $100.
Hurricane Okeechobee was one of the deadliest, it took place in 1928 and was reported as the most devastating to life near West Palm Beach. The category four hurricane was the 7th strongest and ranked as the worst disaster when it comes to the loss of life. In Florida, there were 2,500 fatalities of which were drowning in Lake Okeechobee. More than 611 fatalities were noted for Belle Glade, and the damage it caused reached $196 billion which was an early start to the great depression.
The powerful hurricane Irma is the most recent and winds of up to 130 mph were sustained which makes hurricane Irma a category 4. During the hurricane, several people suffered power outages caused by the winds. The storm combined with the tide in Southwest Florida and power outages continued for quite some time in Florida. Many left their homes in search of safety for their families, and hundreds of dead fish were found on Interstate 40. It is important for Florida residents to know when to evacuate, the evacuation routes and remain up to date with all events in their area.