Category 5 Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever recorded. There have been only three hurricanes with a Category 5 to hit the U.S. in history.
WASHINGTON — Hurricane Irma began to move across the Caribbean islands on Wednesday, packing winds of 185 mph. South Florida is now bracing for possible impact.
Category 5 Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever recorded. There have been only three hurricanes with a Category 5 to hit the U.S. in history.
In 1935, the “Labor Day” Hurricane hit the Florida Keys with maximum winds of 185 mph. There was an estimated $6 million in damage, and 408 people died. The National Hurricane Center says those who died were primarily World War I veterans working in the area.
Hurricane Camille made landfall along the Mississippi coast in 1969, with maximum winds estimated at 200 mph. As the storm passed over Virginia and West Virginia, the National Hurricane Center says “it produced a burst of 12 to 20 inch rains with local totals of up to 31 inches. Most of this rain occurred in 3 to 5 hours and caused catastrophic flash flooding.” Damage in the U.S. was estimated at $1.4 billion, and 256 people were killed.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit Dade County, Florida with maximum winds of 165 mph. In addition to a 17 foot storm surge in Florida, the National Hurricane Center says Andrew produced a deadly tornado in southeastern Louisiana. Sixty-five people died in the U.S., and there was an estimated $26.5 billion in damage.
A typical scene at Long Key, Florida, USA, where wind with estimated velocity of 165 miles an hour swept the cluster of homes on September 15, 1935, destroying buildings and uprooting trees all before it leaving a trail of death in many parts of Florida.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
FILE — This September 1935 file photo shows the wreckage of an 11-car passenger train that was derailed by a Labor Day hurricane in the Florida Keys. The Hurricane Center says no wind measurements were available from the core of this small but vicious hurricane, which was a Category 5 storm when it reached the Florida Keys. It was blamed for 408 deaths and caused an estimated $6 million (1935 dollars) in damage.
(AP Photo, File)
AP Photo, File
The freighter silver hawk, beached at Gulfport, Miss., on August 3, 1970 by hurricane Camille, appears to be adrift on a sea of debris. The silver hawk was one of two cargo ships run aground by the 200-mile-per-hour hurricane.
(AP Photo/Jack Thornell)
AP Photo/Jack Thornell
Service station owner H.A. Torgerson moves debris in what had been the town post office, next door to his station in Waveland, Miss., Sept. 11, 1969. Hurricane Camille had devastated the area about three weeks earlier.
(AP Photo/Jack Thornell)
AP Photo/Jack Thornell
FILE — In this Aug. 24, 1992 file photo, a sailboat sits on a sidewalk at Dinner Key in Miami after it was washed ashore by Hurricane Andrew.
(AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
AP Photo/Terry Renna, File
FILE — This Aug. 25, 1992 file photo shows the water tower, a landmark in Florida City, Fla. still standing over the ruins of the Florida coastal community that was hit by the force of Hurricane Andrew.
(AP Photo, File)
