THE HURRICANE OF 1928

After a huge hurricane caused flood waters to surge over the land east of Lake Okeechobee in 1928, the federal government began building the Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake. Their intention was that the devastating floods that killed about 2,500 souls would never be repeated.

But time and more hurricanes have weakened the dike, and a recently released report says it has a 50-50 chance of failing in the next four years. That would put about 40,000 people in grave danger. The Army Corps of Engineers has questioned the report, created by a state-hired panel of engineers, but some Florida representatives are already taking steps to get the dike reclassified as a dam, a move that could pave the way to federal funding.

Newspapers nationwide reported the disaster. Below is an account taken from an Associated Press article as published in a North Carolina newspaper, September 19, 1928, before the true death toll was known.

From the Gastonia (NC) Daily Gazette, September 19, 1928

DEATH LIST IN FLORIDA KNOWN TO BE 250, MAY RUN TO 400

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 19 - AP - While the remnants of last week's West Indian hurricane were veering toward the Virginia Capes, Florida today canvassed a reported known death list of 250, casualties in the thousands, and an emergency requiring military aid and immediate relief.

For the first time since Sunday, when the hurricane struck the mainland just south of West Palm Beach, comprehensive figures on the dead and official computation of damage were becoming available.

This Gastonia, North Carolina newspaper is one of many that published detailed reports of the 1928 hurricane in South Florida. Click on image to see larger version.

Prefacing his estimate with the statement that "this storm can't be exaggerated," Howard Selby, chairman of Palm Beach County Red Cross committee, last night said the death toll in the county alone would range around 400 and that damage would be around $25,000,000. Senator Joe T. Robinson, Democratic vice-presidential nominee who left the area last night after donating use of his private car, said damage was estimated at between 75,000,000 and $100,000,000.

But out of the border towns of Lake Okeechobee came word of the greatest loss of life, the missing reported by various relief committees ranging around 300. The hurricane swept up a huge wave in the lake, which over ran the countryside all along the eastern shore, from Okeechobee City on the north, to Belle Glade on the southern tip. The dead, as verified by competent authorities, however, was 32 identified.

Confronted by this emergency, Governor John Martin authorized military units to proceed into the stricken areas, from Tampa, Arcadia and other points, giving adjutant General V. B. Collins authority to confer with the Red Cross at West Palm Beach and use his troops accordingly.

GRAPHIC STORIES

Graphic eye-witness stories of death and privation in the backwoods region around the great Lake Okeechobee were brought to the attention of Red Cross workers in West Palm Beach by injured and destitute persons living in that region.

D.H. Walker, a farmer of South Bay, who escaped with his wife and five children, said the dike broke about 11:00 p.m. Sunday, sending a wall of water through South Bay to a depth of eight feet. His house was washed away and his family sought refuge on a houseboat where approximately 150 others were lodged. He said he saw many persons unable to get to the houseboat holding on to driftwood. He counted 22 bodies tied to trees with rope by rescue workers to keep them from floating away. Practically all the territory in that section was under water, he said.