A strong hurricane hit New England on September 21, 1938, causing widespread damage to buildings, cars, utility poles, and forests throughout the six state region. This hurricane did not have an official name like those today, but was often called “The Long Island Express.” The New England coast suffered severe damage from the storm surge. Tides ranged from 14 to 25 feet. Downtown Providence, Rhode Island, was submerged under nearly 20 feet of water, and parts of Falmouth and New Bedford, Massachusetts, were under 8 feet of water. The hurricane arrived at the time of the astronomical high tide and was moving north at 60 miles per hour. The eye of the storm traveled up the Connecticut River Valley. Throughout the region more than 1,700 people were injured, 564 died, more than 15,000 buildings were damaged, with 8,900 destroyed, and almost 6,000 boats were either damaged or destroyed. Tall, stately trees in every town were toppled. A total of 275,000,000 trees were felled by this disastrous storm.
[Photos of town of Ware and other Mass. towns from “The Complete Historical Record of New England’s Stricken Area, 9-21-1938”.] Greenfield Recorder-Gazette, ca. 1938. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l10-002/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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