Palm Beach County suffered the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history when on Sept. 16, 1928 it brought 150 mph wind and water walls as high as 20 feet around Lake Okeechobee.
As many as 3,000 people died. The Galveston, Texas hurricane of 1900 counted 8,000 to 12,000 who lost their lives.
The storm also had the second lowest barometric pressure in history — 27.4 — taken in West Palm Beach as the eye passed.
Residents had only hours to prepare. The Palm Beach Post’s story in that morning’s paper said the storm could hit Florida. Still it wasn’t clear where until 6:15 that evening when it came ashore in Palm Beach as a Category 4 storm.
The damage was catastrophic as was the loss of life, which could only be estimated because of the overwhelming deaths in the Glades. Those who died on the coast were identified and buried in West Palm Beach’s cemetery, Woodlawn.
In the Glades, especially for fear of disease in the Glades, people who died — mostly Black people — were dumped into mass graves, some at Woodlawn and others at Port Mayaca near Canal Point, or cremated in huge funeral pyres.
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Holly Baltz, who has a passion for history, is the investigations editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hbaltz@pbpost.com. Support local investigative journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A look back: The 1928 hurricane was the deadliest to hit Palm Beach County, 2nd worst in U.S. history
Reporting by Holly Baltz, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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