70 years ago today – or close: The Hurricane of 1938

Driving through town this morning, I listened to Connecticut Public Radio's Bracing for the Storm. (download this episode).  Not having tuned in at the beginning, I thought mistakenly that today was the actual anniversary.  However, September 21 is pretty close.  We do have a Photo Selection of the Month (2002): The Hurricane of '38 and the Floods of '54 an '55 on our website.

a still familiar location, flooded after the hurricane

The Great New England Hurricane of September 1938 lives in history as the worst disaster for Connecticut in the 20th century.

Not only was this a major storm producing more than 100 mph winds, but it caused enormous flooding.  Prior rains on September 12 and 15 had raised the water levels, and a storm raging September 17 through 20 added another 6 inches or more of rainfall.  Thus, when the hurricane hit on September 21, the water from the rains had nowhere to go.  Add to that the fact that there was no effective hurricane warning system in place at the time, the combination of storm, floods, and the lack of preparedness, was devastating.

The storm is amply described on the Internet by Connecticut's Heritage Gateway: The Hurricane of 1938, PBS: The Hurricane of '38 – The American Experience, and an electronic exhibition from the Thomas J. Dodd Research  Center, University of Connecticut Libraries: "Going Beyond the Call: Southern New England Telephone's Response to Natural Disasters in Connecticut,"  The Hurricane of 1938.  The Stamford Historical Society has a reference in Record Group RG-1.02: Stamford Fire Department and Southend Fire Station.

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