13. The 1893 Louisiana hurricane known as Cheniere Caminada
In October 1893 New Orleans was hit by a hurricane which became known as the Great October Storm. The storm developed in the Caribbean, rushed ashore in Louisiana, traveled across the states of the Deep South and emerged in the Atlantic Ocean on October 4, where it gradually dissipated. When the storm struck Louisiana near Grand Isle it carried winds of 135 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm. The small town of Cheniere Caminada bore the brunt of the storm surge when it came ashore, and of the town’s estimated 1,500 residents 779 lost their lives. The storm surge was estimated to exceed 16 feet, and the surf which it drove severely altered the coastline. After sweeping over the little village the storm swept across the Gulf States, destroying citrus and rice crops and creating the equivalent of $102 million in damage.
The storm weakened as it swept through Alabama, but it still packed a lethal punch as it moved towards the Atlantic coastline. High winds and heavy rains damaged crops, destroyed homes, caused flash floods, and took lives. Although the death toll was based on estimates in all of the states affected by the storm, it is generally agreed that at least 2,000 were killed, many of them in small, rural communities in the then segregated south. The Cheniere Caminada was one of the most lethal hurricanes to hit the United States, and the worst of the several storms which struck the United States that year in terms of the number of deaths inflicted. The surviving citizens of the town for which the storm is named did not rebuild their community, which was literally wiped out, with only one structure standing after the storm passed through. All of the survivors relocated to other communities.