Stormy Waters

More than just a life-giving source, we depend on water for transportation, industry, and recreation. From the Florida Keys to the vast inland seas known as the Great Lakes, people have always been lured by the spell of the water. But not without a tragic cost.

The Great Lakes Storm: The worst storm ever to strike the Great Lakes in modern history was the 1913 Lake Huron Storm. Nothing could have prepared the sailors for the storm that lasted from November 7-12, 1913. Gale-force winds mixed with a blinding snowstorm and made navigation almost impossible. Steel freighters over 400 feet long sank below Lake Huron's stormy surface, taking all hands with them. After 4 days of high winds, freezing temperatures, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountianous seas, 19 ships had been lost, 24 had been thrown ashore, and 238 sailors had died. After the storm, radios and increased safety precautions became standard on the Great Lakes steamers.

The Labor Day Hurricane: The hurricane that struck the Florida Keys on September 2, 1935, was the strongest hurricane ever to hit the United States. The storm produced record lows in barometric pressure as it approached the Keys, but officials were slow to announce the impending disaster or order an evacuation. When the 200 mph winds arrived they tore up houses and trees in their path, leaving a wasteland behind. The hardes hit were a group of several hundred WWI veterans who had no experience of dealing with the intense storms of the Keys. 260 of them died. The evacuation train, moving at a crawl, was caught in the storm and blown off its tracks, killing 150 people. Overall the Labor Day Hurricane killed over 500 people and devastated the Florida Keys.