Great Hurricane of 1938: 700 Dead on Long Island
The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 struck Long Island and southern New England on September 21 with sustained winds of 121 mph and a storm surge that reached 25 feet in some locations. The Weather Bureau had tracked the storm but predicted it would curve out to sea, so no warnings were issued. The hurricane traveled northward at an extraordinary forward speed of 70 mph, covering the last 500 miles to New England in under eight hours. Entire coastal communities in Rhode Island and Connecticut were obliterated. Providence flooded under 13 feet of water. Between 600 and 800 people died. The disaster destroyed over 57,000 homes and 26,000 automobiles. It directly prompted the creation of a systematic hurricane warning system for the Atlantic seaboard.
September 21, 1938
88 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 21
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