58 years ago, Hurricane Carla slammed into the Texas coast

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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Coverage of Hurricane Carla in 1961
Archive film of KTRK-TV coverage of Hurricane Carla, 1961

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On September 11, 1961, Hurricane Carla, one of the strongest storms of the century slammed into the Texas coast. Just how strong was Carla? The storm destroyed buildings in Galveston, and that was 120 miles from where the center of the storm made landfall. KTRK-TV was in its infancy back in 1961, but was there to record the historic event.

In 1976, Dave Ward and Ed Brandon took viewers back to 1961's Hurricane Carla during a special edition of Issues & Answers.

Carla's numbers are impressive. Here is an account of Carla, written by David Roth of the National Weather Service:

Hurricane Carla remains the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Texas coast.