The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935

A Monster Unleashed

On September 2, 1935, one of the most powerful hurricanes in U.S. history slammed into the Florida Keys with terrifying force. With winds exceeding 185 mph and a storm surge of 18-20 feet, the Category 5 hurricane obliterated entire islands, leaving a trail of destruction—and over 400 dead, including hundreds of World War I veterans sent there for work.

This was the Labor Day Hurricane, a storm so intense it still holds the record for the lowest barometric pressure (892 mb) ever recorded at U.S. landfall. But beyond the staggering statistics lies a tragedy of human error, failed rescues, and a storm so fierce it reshaped hurricane forecasting forever.

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The Storm That Defied Belief

A Hurricane Like No Other

• Rapid Intensification: Just 36 hours before landfall, it was a tropical storm. By Labor Day, it was a Category 5 beast—something almost unheard of in 1935.
• 892 Millibars: Lower pressure than Katrina (2005), Andrew (1992), or Camille (1969)—making it the strongest U.S. hurricane by pressure.
• Winds Beyond Measure: Anemometers were destroyed, but damage suggested 200+ mph gusts. Survivors described “a wall of water with howling winds that sounded like a freight train.”

The Keys Obliterated

• Entire islands were swept clean—houses, trees, and even railroad tracks vanished.
• The storm surge drowned the low-lying Middle Keys, including Islamorada and Matecumbe Key, where most of the victims perished.
• A rescue train, sent too late, was derailed and smashed by the surge, killing many aboard.

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The Tragedy of the WWI Veterans

Why Were Hundreds of Vets in the Path of a Hurricane?

As part of FDR’s New Deal, about 300 World War I veterans were sent to the Florida Keys to build bridges and roads for the Overseas Highway. Many were homeless or jobless due to the Great Depression, and the government offered them work—but not safety.

A Rescue Gone Wrong

• Officials waited too long to evacuate, believing the storm would miss the Keys.
• When a rescue train finally arrived, the hurricane was already hitting. The tracks were washed out, and the train was overturned by the surge.
• Bodies were later found tangled in mangroves or buried under debris—some never recovered.

Hemingway’s Fury

Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West, was outraged. He wrote a scathing essay titled “Who Murdered the Vets?”, accusing the government of criminal negligence:

“Who sent nearly a thousand war veterans… to live in frame shacks on the Florida Keys in hurricane months?… The wind blew the water away and then the water came back.”

The public backlash led to congressional hearings, but no one was ever held accountable.

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Legacy: How the Storm Changed America

1. Better Hurricane Tracking – The disaster exposed flaws in storm warnings, leading to improved forecasting.
2. Evacuation Policies – Authorities became less hesitant to order early evacuations.
3. A Warning for Today – With climate change fueling stronger storms, the 1935 hurricane serves as a haunting reminder of nature’s fury.

Today, a memorial in Islamorada stands in honor of the victims—many of them forgotten veterans who survived war, only to be abandoned in the face of a hurricane.

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Final Thought: Could It Happen Again?

Modern forecasting might prevent such a high death toll, but with rising sea levels and stronger storms, the Keys remain vulnerable. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 wasn’t just a weather event—it was a failure of humanity. And its lessons must never be forgotten.