Hurricane Carla - Impact

Impact

Most intense landfalling Atlantic hurricanes in the United States
Rank Hurricane Year Intensity Size Total
1 Carla 1961 17 25 42
2 Hugo 1989 16 24 40
Betsy 1965 15 25 40
4 Camille 1969 22 14 36
Katrina 2005 13 23 36
Opal 1995 11 25 36
7 Miami 1926 15 19 34
8 Audrey 1957 17 16 33
Fran 1996 11 22 33
Wilma 2005 12 21 33

Storm surge was measured at 22 feet (6.6 m) near the heads of bays, in some places penetrating 10 miles inland. Because of its large size, the entire Texas coast was affected, and damage was reported as far inland as Dallas. Sustained winds were reported to be 115 mph in Matagorda, 110 mph in Victoria and 88 mph in Galveston. Wind gusts as high as 170 mph were recorded at Port Lavaca. Pressure at landfall was measured at 931 mb (hPa), making it the eighth most intense hurricane to strike the United States in the 20th century. Then little-known newsman Dan Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall during the storm, an act that would be imitated by later reporters. This marked the first live television broadcast of a hurricane.

Much of the damage was done well away from the landfall site, as Carla spawned one of the largest hurricane-related tornado outbreaks on record at the time, when 26 tornadoes touched down within its circulation. One F4 tornado ripped through downtown Galveston, killing several (sources differ on the exact number, varying from 6 to 12). Outside the protection of the Galveston Seawall, structures on the island were severely damaged by storm surge. Damage was reported as far east as the Mississippi River delta.

As Carla weakened, it dropped heavy rain in the Midwest, causing some flooding.

Carla killed 43 people, 31 of them in Texas. The low death toll is credited to what was then the largest peacetime evacuation in US history. Half of a million residents headed inland from exposed coastal areas. Carla caused a total of $325 million (1961 USD, $2.36 billion 2010 USD) in damage.

Read more about this topic:  Hurricane Carla

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