Issues & Answers: Hurricane Carla
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Carla's numbers are impressive. Here is an account of Carla, written by David Roth of the National Weather Service:
No history of Texas hurricanes would be complete without a thorough mention of Carla, which made landfall near Port Lavaca. Carla was among the largest hurricanes of the historical record.
Hurricane Carla, strongest hurricane to ever hit the Texas coast
It stalled offshore, making a fairly large loop off Pass Cavallo, before finally striking the coast. The storm produced many tornadoes, gusts estimated to 175 mph, torrential rains, and a 22-foot storm surge at Port O'Connor. Hurricane-force gusts were seen along nearly the entire coast of Texas. Winds gusted to 86 mph at Corpus Christi.
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Her path of devastation inland extended from Victoria to Dallas. The death toll was limited to 34, which was attributed in part to what was the largest peacetime evacuation of an area in history, up until that time.
A quarter million people fled the middle and upper Texas coasts to move inland to safety. The evacuation was slow, however. It took four hours to get from Port Arthur to Beaumont on U.S. 69.
Twenty-six tornadoes were spawned, one of which tore apart 120 buildings and killed six in Galveston.
Structures outside the seawall were severely damaged by the storm surge. The Ursuline Convent, which was the oldest educational institution in Galveston, was destroyed by Carla. Texas City saw 90% of its homes flooded. Surfside, near Freeport, saw extensive damage. The trail of destruction extended down the coast to Port Isabel, where four to five foot storm surges were seen. Port O'Connor was 75% wiped out.
The Matagorda Island Air Force Base was almost erased from existence. Damage to the air force base was $18 million.
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In Jefferson County, 180 miles from the land-falling storm, $17.5 million in damage occurred, with $14 million of it water damage.
Highway 87 was destroyed between Sabine Pass and High Island but later rebuilt. Three to four feet of water flooded Port Arthur.
The only injuries reported there were due to snake bites. Rain totaled 19 inches at Votan.
The 5.15" of rain that fell in Victoria set a rainfall record for the 11th. A vast amount of coastline was inundated, which totaled 1.7 million acres. Carla's area of destruction extended well to the east into Louisiana.
Total damages were estimated at $408 million for Texas