On September 16, 1928, the fifth most intense hurricane known to have struck the United States made landfall at West Palm Beach, Florida. Proceeding inland over Lake Okeechobee, the cyclone generated an extreme storm surge there which overwhelmed portions of the lake's inadequate levee system. At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane, making it Florida's deadliest natural disaster and the third costliest confirmed calamity (in terms of lives lost) in the nation's history. / The work begins with an introduction to Palm Beach County in 1928, the primary location of the disaster. After this the history of Florida's troubled reclamation and flood control program as relevant to the region and the evolution of the catastrophe is presented. The 1928 hurricane is then followed from its formation to the point of landfall in Florida, with particular attention given to the difficulties of forecasting its track and the various communications and warning problems which contributed to the tragedy's toll. An account of the storm and its effects along the coast is then rendered, followed by an explanation of the disaster at Lake Okeechobee and narratives of individual hurricane experiences along the lake shore. Relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts are considered, along with a brief analysis of casualties and economic impact. The work then discusses how the hurricane of 1928 led to an ongoing federal involvement in Florida's flood control and drainage programs, and how for the first time in its history Florida implemented a coordinated warning and evacuation procedure to protect a portion of the state from hurricanes. The dissertation concludes with the construction of the Hoover Dike and its testing under subsequent storms. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: A, page: 4914. / Major Professor: Edward F. Keuchel. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77623 |
| Contributors | Gross, Eric Lincoln., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 703 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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