page_title: Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida / Background
caption_attribution_description: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale TD TS 1 2 3 4 5 English: 1928 Okeechobee hurricane track. Uses the color scheme from the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
context_page_description: The effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida included at least 2,500 fatalities in the state of Florida, making this the second deadliest tropical cyclone in the history of the contiguous United States, behind only the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The hurricane originated from a tropical depression that formed near Dakar, Senegal, on September 6. Traversing the Atlantic Ocean, the cyclone struck the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas as a powerful hurricane. Early on September 17, the storm made landfall near West Palm Beach, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Thereafter, it moved further inland across the Southeastern United States and became extratropical over North Carolina on September 20, before the remnants lost their identity over Ontario on September 21.
  Along the east coast of Florida, the most severe damage was reported from Miami to Fort Pierce, particularly in Palm Beach County. In West Palm Beach, one of the most severely affected coastal cities, a total of 1,711 houses were destroyed and 6,369 others suffered damage, which left about 2,100 families homeless.
context_section_description: A tropical depression developed just offshore the west coast of Africa on September 6. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm later that day, shortly before passing south of the Cape Verde Islands. Further intensification was slow and halted by late on September 7. However, about 48 hours later, the storm resumed strengthening and became a Category 1 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The system reached Category 4 intensity before striking Guadeloupe on September 12. Around midday on September 13, the storm strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, peaking with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (268 km/h). About six hours later, the system made landfall in Puerto Rico; it was the only recorded tropical cyclone to strike the island as a Category 5. After emerging into the Atlantic, the storm weakened slightly, falling to Category 4 intensity. It began crossing through the Bahamas on September 16. Early on September 17, the storm made landfall near West Palm Beach, Florida, with winds of 145 mph (235 km/h). While crossing Florida, the system weakened significantly, falling to Category 1 intensity late on September 17. It curved north-northeastward and briefly re-emerged into the Atlantic on September 18, but soon made another landfall near Edisto Island, South Carolina, with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Early on the following day, the system weakened to a tropical storm and became extratropical over North Carolina hours later.
  After World War I, South Florida experienced a land boom. The land boom brought new construction and large population increases, with the number of residents in West Palm Beach quadrupling between 1920 and 1927. A New York Times article from 1925 noted that the development in Florida "yields no parallel". However, the land boom began faltering after the 1926 Miami hurricane and real estate scams. Inland, the communities along the shore of Lake Okeechobee were mostly an agrarian society. Agricultural productivity rapidly took hold in the area due to the rich, black muck soil. Prior to the 1928 hurricane, Lake Okeechobee was surrounded by a mud dike averaging 4 ft (1.2 m) in height. The southwest side of dike was breached during the 1926 Miami hurricane, devastating Clewiston and Moore Haven and drowning as many as 300 people. Since 1924, the Florida Legislature attempted to secure authorization and funding for flood control around Lake Okeechobee. However, according to Congressman Herbert J. Drane, little had been done to mitigate a similar disaster.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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