- 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane
Infobox Hurricane
Name=1893 Sea Islands Hurricane
Type=hurricane
Year=1893
Basin=Atl
Image location=1893 sea islands hurricane damaged houses.jpg
Formed=August 15 ,1893
Dissipated=September 2 ,1893
1-min winds=105
Pressure=954
Da
Inflated=
Fatalities=1000-2000
Areas=Georgia,South Carolina
Hurricane season=1893 Atlantic hurricane season OnAugust 27 ,1893 a majorhurricane which came to be known as theSea Islands Hurricane struck theUnited States nearSavannah, Georgia . It was one of two deadly hurricanes during the1893 Atlantic hurricane season ; the storm killed an estimated 1,000–2,000 people, mostly fromstorm surge . This is also the storm that made famousUnited States Life-Saving Service KeeperDunbar Davis .Meteorological history
Modern analysis of historical records has allowed the history of this storm to be pieced together, although the analysis is only estimations since few accurate meteorological records were taken.
On
15 August , atropical storm formed east of theCape Verde Islands . It likely passed directly though islands on the 16th, leaving their vicinity during the evening of the 17th. It become a hurricane on the 19th, while crossing the Atlantic between the Cape Verde Islands and theLesser Antilles . The hurricane continued to strengthen, attaining Category 3 status on22 August while located northeast of the Lesser Antilles. By the evening of the 25th, the storm was approaching theBahamas . During the approach it began to deviate from its westerly course and arc west-northwest. It is believed that the first effects of the storm were beginning to be felt in the Sea Islands area, with the winds steadily increasing during the night of the 25th.Some of the inhabitants anticipated the storm and left the islands as quickly as possible. The conditions soon rapidly deteriorated on the island and the hurricane passed over sometime on the 26th. By now the hurricane was turning more and more towards the north. It moved parallel to the coast for about one hundred miles before making landfall.
Landfall occurred near
Savannah, Georgia on27 August . Reports from the time say that wind during landfall was around convert|120|mph|km/h|abbr=on|lk=off. Pressure in Savannah was measured at convert|960|mbar|inHg|abbr=on|lk=off; modern estimates put the pressure around convert|954|mbar|inHg|abbr=on|lk=off at landfall and possibly as low as convert|931|mbar|inHg|abbr=on|lk=off out at sea, which would have most likely made the hurricane a Category 3 storm on theSaffir-Simpson hurricane scale . Thehurricane passed north overSouth Carolina onAugust 28 and moved up theU.S. East Coast before becoming extratropical overAtlantic Canada .Impact
The hurricane carried with it a heavy
storm surge (convert|16|ft|m|abbr=on|lk=off|disp=s, according toClara Barton ), which caused great destruction along the coastline and offshoreSea Islands in Georgia and South Carolina. An estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people were killed (mostly by drowning), putting it on-par with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the 4th deadliest hurricane in US history. This estimate is quite conservative, though, considering the large populations of poor rural African-Americans in the area who had little means of reporting casualties.Fact|date=February 2007 30,000 or more were left homeless as nearly every building along the barrier islands was damaged beyond repair.Although the hurricane had been devastating, the
American Red Cross did not arrive until 1 Oct, possibly because of ongoing efforts because of another hurricane that had hit South Carolina in June. After the Red Cross arrived, a warehouse of clothing and food was startedBeaufort, South Carolina in order to provide services to the affected. Unfortunately, relief efforts were impeded by a secondcategory 3 hurricane that struck just north of the area, nearCharleston, South Carolina , onOctober 13 . During a massive 10-month relief campaign, success was declared, with the Sea Islands population living in decent houses producing their own food again.ee also
*
List of tropical cyclones
*List of Atlantic hurricanes
*List of New England hurricanes
*1893 Cheniere Caminada Hurricane
*1893 Charleston Hurricane
*Dunbar Davis Further reading
*cite book |title=The Great Sea Island Storm of 1893 |last=Marscher |first=William |authorlink= |coauthors=Marscher, Fran |year=2004 |publisher=Mercer University Press |location=Macon, GA |isbn=0865548676 |pages=
External links
* [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/images/1893seaisland.jpgNOAA Hurricane Track]
* [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/tdgh-aug/aug27.htm August 27th in Georgia history]
* [http://www.co.beaufort.sc.us/bftlib/hurricanes.htm Beaufort County Public Library hurricane history]
* [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/history/ North Florida & Coastal Georgia hurricanes, 1565-1899]
* [http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1893/index.html UNISYS 1893 hurricane tracks]
* [http://www.savannahnow.com/hurricane/2003/stories/history.shtml]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.