Hurricane Betsy

Hurricane Betsy was a powerful storm of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season, which caused enormous damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana.

Storm history

Betsy formed east of the Windward Islands, and moved north through the island chain as a tropical storm. When it was about 350 miles east of Daytona Beach, Fla. and seemed to be on its way to hit the Carolinas, it turned back to toward the southwesp, passing over the Bahamas where winds on Great Abaco Island reached 147 mph. Betsy travelled just north of Nassau, the biggest city in the Bahamas, where it stalled for about three hours, allowing its winds to pound the city.

Related Topics:
Windward Islands - Nassau

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On September 7, Betsy continued moving toward the southwest toward extreme southern Florida. It passed over Key Largo at the eastern end of the Florida Keys, and then continued west along the Keys, as a Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane-force winds were experienced in the Miami area for roughly twelve hours.

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After crossing Florida Bay and entering the Gulf of Mexico, Betsy restrengthened, growing into a category 4 storm with winds up to 155 mph. It continued northwestward, moving into Barataria Bay on the evening of the 9th. It made its second U.S. landfall at Grand Isle, Louisiana, just west of the mouth of the Mississippi River, where it destroyed almost every building. At the time of landfall in Louisiana, Betsy's wind speeds were 155 mph, one mile per hour below Category 5 strength. The storm travelled upriver, causing the Mississippi at New Orleans to rise by 10 feet.

Related Topics:
Florida Bay - Gulf of Mexico - Grand Isle, Louisiana - Mississippi River - Mph - New Orleans

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Betsy drove storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain, just north of New Orleans, pushing water over levees around the lake and into the city. The Florida Avenue levee was breached, which led to greater flooding in the Ninth Ward and Chalmette. Flood water reached the eaves of houses in some places in the city.

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It was 10 days or more before the water level in New Orleans went down enough for people to return to their homes. It was even longer than that to restore their flooded houses to a livable condition. Those who did not have family or friends with dry homes had to sleep in the shelters at night and forage for supplies during the day, while waiting for the federal government to provide emergency relief in the form of trailers.

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In all, 164,000 homes were flooded at the second landfall.

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