WFO Miami MIC Rusty Pfost talks to radio reporter at 1926 Miami Hurricane historical marker dedication (Photo: Robert Molleda, NWS Miami)
(Sept. 18, 2007) -- Officials from the National Weather Service office in Miami, the National Hurricane Center and the State of Florida dedicated an historical marker in remembrance of the victims of the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. Survivors of the storm were also on hand for the dedication at the site of the old U.S. Weather Bureau office at First Street and First Avenue in Downtown Miami.
Frequently referred to as the "Big Blow", the powerful Category 4 hurricane roared into downtown Miami on September 18, 1926 with a 15 foot storm surge and winds in excess of 150 mph. The sustained wind speeds were the highest ever recorded in the United States up to that time. It was also the last time a storm surge completely inundated Miami Beach.
A Red Cross report lists the death toll at 372. But with more than 800 people listed as missing, the actual number of casualties is likely to be much higher. It is ranked as the 10th deadliest hurricane to make land fall in the United States.
The report also estimates approximately 6,400 people were injured by the hurricane. While the marker serves as a memorial to all those who were lost, it also serves as a reminder to present and future generations of the need for continued vigilance and preparedness.
In the October 1926 edition of the Monthly Weather Review, then U.S. Weather Bureau Miami Station Chief Richard Gray wrote that many of those deaths and injuries were avoidable. As the eye of the hurricane passed over downtown Miami, there was an abrupt drop in wind velocity and people rushed into the streets - thinking the storm had passed.
National Hurricane Center Acting Director Ed Rappaport addresses attendees at 1926 Miami Hurricane historical marker dedication (Photo: Robert Molleda, NWS Miami)
"I warned those in the vicinity of the Federal Building that the storm was not over and it would be dangerous to remain in the open," wrote Gray. "The lull lasted 35 minutes and, during that time, the streets became crowded with people. As a result, many lives were lost during the second phase of the storm."
The hurricane passed over South Florida, re-entered the Gulf of Mexico, skirted Pensacola and weakened to a Category 3 before making a second landfall near Mobile, Ala. As the storm passed, nearly every pier, warehouse and vessel on Pensacola Bay was destroyed. By the time its fury was spent, the 1926 hurricane had caused an estimated $100 million in damages (over $2 Billion in 2007 dollars).
Miami Weather Forecast Office Meteorologist-in-Charge Rusty Pfost warns that a similar hurricane striking South Florida today would be catastrophic. "The combined population of Dade and Broward Counties in 1926 was only 135,000.
Approximately four million people reside in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties today, and more than half of the Miami-Dade County population is foreign-born and unfamiliar with South Florida's hurricane history. The marker helps to ensure the story of the 1926 hurricane will be remembered."
