Hurricane Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Every few generations some 'Act of God' happens without warning, but with such devastation as to change lives forever.Such an event took place on the Alligator River, Tyrrell County, North Carolina, on September 15-16, 1933. For the remote fishing and farming community of Gum Neck there was virtually no warning whatsoever that 'one of the most tragic storms in North Carolina history' was destined to hit immediately, at considerable human cost.
This article is a documented account of what happened in Gum Neck, as pieced together from interviews with survivors. These collective recollections afford an unique snapshot of life on the Alligator on one particular day in September 1933.
Furthermore, such was the newsworthiness of this powerful storm, the Washington Post, New York Times and other newspapers afford a glimpse of a sharply contrasting world beyond the Alligator River, at precisely the same time. It reveals that September 1933 was a surprisingly 'modern' world, encompassing a revolution in Cuba, closure of Newark and other New York airports and anxious delays of luxury liners from England.
The Hurricane of September 15-16, 1933, cut a devastating swathe across the sparsely populated counties of Carteret, Hyde, Tyrrell and Dare. An analysis of events in Gum Neck indicates there were two different surges of water. It is proposed here that it was the compounding of the water from the second surge which created the unprecedented flooding. The recently dug inland waterway canal is implicated.
As the September Storm left the North Carolina coast, it lost little energy over the open sea as it swept southeastern Virginia, eastern Long Island and southern New England. This remarkably powerful storm then apparently crossed the North Atlantic to hit England, Belgium and France five days later. That such an exceptionally strong hurricane can maintain its integrity across the Atlantic could have great historic significance. For example, an 'unusually severe hurricane' hit the north coast of Ireland in mid-September 1588, decimating the Spanish Armada. The possibility, even probability, that this 'Armada Hurricane' was threatening the Carolina coast on or about Sept 10, 1588, is discussed. That such a powerful hurricane decimated the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island is also discussed.