Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy was a significant weather event that originated as a tropical storm off the northeast coast of South America on August 27, 1965. It developed into a powerful hurricane, making landfall in the Bahamas on September 6 with winds reaching up to 145 miles per hour, causing extensive damage in Nassau. The storm subsequently impacted southern Florida, leading to severe flooding in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and resulted in multiple fatalities and substantial property damage. By the time Hurricane Betsy reached New Orleans on September 10, it had intensified further, with winds of up to 150 miles per hour, causing catastrophic flooding across coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and western Florida.
The aftermath of the storm left over 185,000 people in emergency shelters and caused more than $1 billion in damages, marking it as the most costly hurricane to date. Despite the extensive damage and a reported death toll of 74, the loss of life was relatively low compared to previous hurricanes, attributed to the effectiveness of early warning systems and responsive rescue efforts. The storm's impacts prompted a coordinated response from federal and state agencies, highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness and recovery in the face of natural disasters.
Subject Terms
Hurricane Betsy
Date: September 6-10, 1965
One of the most destructive natural disasters of the 1960’s. Hurricane Betsy killed seventy-four people and did more than one billion dollars of property damage.
Origins and History
Hurricane Betsy began as a tropical storm off the northeast coast of South America. It was detected on August 27, 1965, by ships, aircraft, weather satellites, and astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad aboard the spacecraft Gemini V. After moving northwest for several days without approaching land, the hurricane turned southwest on September 4 and began heading for populated areas.
The Hurricane
Hurricane Betsy struck the Bahamas, a chain of islands southeast of Florida, on September 6, 1965. Winds of up to 145 miles per hour did extensive damage to the capital city of Nassau. On September 7, the hurricane moved east to the southern tip of Florida. The cities of Miami and Fort Lauderdale were flooded by the highest tides to hit the area since a previous hurricane in 1926. At least six deaths in Florida were blamed on the hurricane. Property damage in the state was estimated at one hundred million dollars.
On September 9, the hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico, where it began to move northwest. At about midnight on the morning of September 10, the hurricane struck New Orleans with winds of up to 150 miles per hour. Tides ranging from six to twelve feet high flooded coastal areas of eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and western Florida. More than ten thousand homes were without electricity, and more than 185,000 people were housed in emergency shelters. By September 11, when the hurricane dissipated into a heavy rainstorm moving north over Louisiana into Arkansas, it had caused more than fifty deaths and more than one billion dollars of property damage. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Louisiana Governor John J. McKeithen visited the area on September 11. Under their direction, federal and state agencies began repairing the extensive destruction.
During the worst part of the hurricane, a barge loaded with six hundred tons of liquid chlorine, a highly poisonous substance, sank into the Mississippi River near Baton Rogue, Louisiana. A potential disaster was avoided when the barge was recovered safely on November 12, in a salvage operation that required the evacuation of most of the city’s population.
Impact
Compared with previous large hurricanes, which had sometimes killed hundreds or thousands of people, Hurricane Betsy’s final death toll of seventy-four was considered to be quite low. The relatively small number of deaths was credited to early warnings given by radar equipment and weather satellites and quick responses by rescue workers. The $1.4 billion dollars worth of property damage caused by Hurricane Betsy made it the most costly hurricane up to that time.
Additional Information
A detailed account of Hurricane Betsy and photographs of the destruction it caused can be found in Hurricanes: Weather at Its Worst (1967), by Thomas Helm.