1933 — Sep 4-5, SE TX Hurricane, Brownsville, Fort Ringgold, Harlingen, Rio Hondo –37-40

–37-40 Blanchard estimated death toll. While our own attempt to reproduce the death toll via
local newspapers and other accounts leads us to the range of 37-39 deaths which we feel
comfortable reporting, it is none the less the case that a number of sources, including the
National Weather Service, Dunn and Miller, Ludlum, etc., report 40 deaths. Given the
ambiguities we see in the local reporting at the time – such as the same named person
reported as a fatality in two different locales – and the possibility of an American killed
on the Texas coast but whose body was recovered in Mexico, we cannot be certain that
the range is definitely between 37 and 39. Thus we include the much reported death toll
estimate of 40 as the high-end of our estimated death toll. We still decide to incorporate
this number as the high end of a range rather than a stand-alone number in that we are not
persuaded that it is definitively accurate. Below are examples of estimates.

— 62 Syracuse Herald, NY. “Texas Storm Death Toll Reaches 62,” Sep 6, 1933, pp. 1, 12.
— 40 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.
— 40 Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised). 1964, p. 323.
— 40 La Feria News. “A Unique Look at the September 1933 Hurricane.” 2015.
— 40 Ludlum. The American Weather Book, 1982, p. 189.
— 40 Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1491-1996.
— 40 US NWS, Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Texas Office. The Deadly Story of the 1933…
–37-39 Blanchard estimated death toll based on locality breakouts below.
— 3 Brownsville
— 3-4 Fort Ringgold
–9-10 Harlingen
— 1 La Feria
— 1 Port Isabel
— 1 Red Fish Bay
— 2 Red Ranch
— 11 Rio Hondo
— 2 San Benito
— 4 Locale not noted.
–37 UP, McAllen. “Flood Danger Nearing End in Lower Valley.” Taylor Daily Press, TX. 9-11-1933, p. 1.
–35 Purl. “The Hurricane In The Rio Grande Valley.” Georgetown Williamson County Sun.”
–32 Associated Press. “Bulletin.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-6-1933, p. 1.
–29 AP. “Death Toll From Valley Flood 29.” Denton Record Chronicle, TX. 9-12-1933, p. 1.
–24 Valley Morning Star, Harlingen TX. “24 Known Dead In Wake of Hurricane.” 9-14-1933, 1.
–24 Weather Bureau. “Severe Local Storms, September 1933.” MWR, 61/9, Sep 1933, p. 291.
–22 Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “Floods Rising in Devastated Valley,” Sep 8, 1933, 1.
–21 Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Death Toll Mounts to 21.” 9-13-1933, p. 1.

Breakout of fatalities by locality where noted:
–10 Brownsville. Syracuse Herald, NY. “Texas Storm Death Toll Reaches 62,” 9/6/1933, 1.
— 3 Brownsville area. Blanchard tally from breakouts below.
–1 Albert Derrick, 35…died of a heart attack caused by the storm, physicians said.”
–1 Jose Juarez, 28, died of hurricane-related injuries at Valley Baptist hospital Sep 12.
–1 “The body of man found beneath a wall at Brownsville.”
— 0 “ UP, Harlingen. “Fear 10 Lives Lost in Storm; Relief Rushed.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-6-1933, p. 1.
–3-4 Fort Ringgold. (Inland from and west by northwest of Harlingen, on Mexican border.
–4 NWS, Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Texas Office. The Deadly Story of the 1933…
–3 San Antonio Light. “Army Reports 3 Storm Dead; Refugees Describe Terror.” 9-6-1933.
— 10 Harlingen. Amarillo Daily News. “Hurricane. Twelve Are Known Dead…” 9-6-1933, p. 1.
–1 Maria Cavazos, 22-months.
–1 E. A. Duncan, 50. Also noted as Bill Duncan (probably in reference to same person).
–1 Gilberto Gutierrez, thought to have died when his house collapsed.
–1 Edward Heckman, 82.
–1 Stuart Place neighborhood. Mrs. Tillie Higdon, 30. Age also noted as Gillie, 67.
–1 Juniveo Little Johnson, 32.
–1 Probable drowning. Unidentified Black found dead on the Grimes canal.
–2 Unidentified Americans of Harlingen. AP. “The Casualty List.” Lubbock, 9-7-1933, p. 1.
— 1 La Feria (west of Harlingen). Richard Allen Douglas, afterwards from injuries sustained.
— 1 Los Fresnos. Glen Maxon, 28.
— 1 Port Isabel. Glenn Maxon, 28. (Highlighted in yellow to denote one report is in error.)
— 1 Raymondville area. Body of J.A. Summers, fisherman, found in his crushed auto.
— 1 Red Fish Bay. “Body of ‘Uncle Jim’ Sumners…fisherman drowned in the storm, drifted ashore…”
— 1 Red Ranch near San Benito. Primitivo Lopez, 25, died at Valley Baptist hospital of injuries.
— 1 Red Ranch, San Benito. Cecelia Rodriguez, 30.
–11 Rio Hondo. Galveston Daily News. “Relief Pushed as 24 Dead in Storm,” 9/7/1933, p. 1.
–2 Atkinson children, 6-months-old and 13-years. (One list notes Marie Atkinson, 6.)
–1 R. B. Dykes, 21. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1.
–1 Antonio Garcia, 7. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1.
–1 Pat Kennedy, 5. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1.
–1 Mrs. John Kucera, about 35. Not named in Sep 8 Valley Morning Star, report.
–1 Judith Kucera, 19. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1.
–1 C. W. Woods, 60. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1.
–4 Unidentified Mexicans. Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “The Casualty List.” 9-7-1933, p. 1.
— 2 San Benito. Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p.1.
–1 Drowning. Olivia Gonzales, 19-months-old.
–1 Drowning. Cruse Rodriguez, 50.
— 4 Locale not noted. Bodies of unidentified Mexicans found crushed to death in ruins of shack.

— 5 Matamoros, Mexico. Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “The Casualty List.” 9-7-1933, 1.
–1 Marie Chong.
–1 Jesus Contreras.
–1 Rosendo Fernandez.
–1 Manuel Garcia.
–1 Patricio Garvin.
— 2 Matamoros. Additional bodies found. Galveston News. “Flood Threat.” 9-9-1933, p. 14.
— 1 Reynosa. Unidentified Mexican.
— 1 Ruben Flandes, 65, civil engineer; body recovered in Mexico.

Narrative Information

La Feria News, 2015: “The 1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane was one of two storms in the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season to reach the intensity of a Category 5 strength.

“On September 2, it attained winds of 140 mph. Initially the hurricane posed a threat to the area around Corpus Christi, Texas, and the local United States Weather Bureau forecaster advised people to stay away from the Texas coastline during the busy Labor Day Weekend. Officials declared martial law in the city and mandated evacuations. However, the hurricane turned more to the west and struck near Brownsville early on September 5 with winds estimated at 125 mph. It quickly dissipated after causing heavy damage in the Rio Grande Valley. High winds caused heavy damage to the citrus crop. The hurricane left $16.9 million in damage and 40 deaths in southern Texas….” (La Feria News. “A Unique Look at the September 1933 Hurricane.” 2015.)

Ludlum: “Hurricane hit Brownsville, Tex.; 40 killed; $12 million damage.” (Ludlum 1982, 189)

Roth: “September 4-5th, 1933: The eleventh storm of the season was stronger and struck the furthest north. It passed over Turks Island in the Bahamas with a pressure of 27.47″ on August 30th. Havana saw winds reaching 94 mph on late afternoon of the 1st. The next day, in the east-central Gulf, a ship reported a pressure of 27.99″. Warnings were then issued for Texas. During the night of the 4th, it moved inland just north of Brownsville.

“The pressure fell to 28.02″ at 1 AM on the 5th with winds estimated at 80 mph in the city; gusts were seen to 125 mph. The storm lasted 38 hours in the Valley. Thirteen inches of rain fell across the area. As waves collapsed the twenty cottages at Redfish Landing, four boys jumped into an ice box, which then floated two miles across the King Ranch (West). Many buildings were destroyed at Harlingen and San Benito. The Lower Rio Grande valley saw 90% of its citrus crop wiped out.

“A 13 foot storm surge was noted near Brownsville; high tides occurred along the entire coast. Strong gales were seen from 11 AM on the 4th to 11 am on the 5th at Corpus Christi. Winds gusted to 57 mph at 2 AM. Many places on North Beach were washed away. The Pleasure Pier was virtually destroyed…..Many homes at Rockport and Port Aransas were swept away. The Don Patricio causeway from Flour Bluff to Padre Island was destroyed. On South Padre Island, the Sportsman’s hotel (known as the casino) was severely damaged during this storm, with the worst destruction on the top floor. All dunes in South Padre Island were flattened. Over 40 cuts were made through the Island, which was then abandoned until after World War II. Distant Galveston measured tides 4.5′ above normal. Several boats sank near Corpus Christi. There were forty people killed and $12 million of damage to property.” (Roth. Texas Hurricane History. 1-17- 2010 update, p. 42.).

Weather Bureau, Monthly Weather Review: “Texas, coast region…3-5 [Sep]…24 [lives lost]…16,900,000 [value of property destroyed]…Hurricane with abnormal tides…Cameron County suffered most; buildings wrecked; fruit trees and crops devastated; tide havoc over vast area.” (Weather Bureau. “Severe Local Storms, September 1933.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 61, Issue 9, September 1933, pp. 291.)
Newspapers

Sep 6, San Antonio Light, TX: “Refugees reaching San Antonio from the areas devastated by a tropical hurricane Wednesday and relief workers who penetrated the stricken Rio Grande Valley, gave information today of the scope of the disaster. Millions of dollars worth of property and uncounted acres of citrus crops were definitely known to have been destroyed.

“Brownsville, Harlingen and San Benito suffered most severely. In the first-named city nearly every building was reported damaged. Harlingen and San Benito buildings were leveled. All wires were down, although repair men were fast restoring communication. Hundreds were homeless. Scores huddled in public buildings.

“A staff reporter of the San Antonio Light, reaching Harlingen, found three known dead, and 75 injured. He was told that seven had been killed at Rio Hondo and several at Brownsville. The Associated Press has reported 32 killed and 1500 hurt in the three towns. Fort Ringgold reported three persons dead and 35 injured at Harlingen.

Two relief trains from San Antonio, carrying food, clothing, drinking water and medical supplies, had reached Harlingen after an all-night journey through the devastated regions. Aboard were doctors, nurses and public health workers.

“Texas Rangers and highway patrolmen were on duty in the stricken area. Martial law had not been declared, and Governor Ferguson, at Austin, declared it would not be necessary.

“An army aviator landing at Corpus Christi after an aerial survey, said he had viewed the prostrate valley towns and that loss was tremendous.” (San Antonio Light, TX. “Army Reports 3 Storm Dead; Refugees Describe Terror.” 9-6-1933 [in La Feria News, 2015.].

Sep 6, Syracuse Herald, NY: “At least 62 were dead and 1,500 injured in the path of a shrieking hurricane that smashed cities and farmlands in the lower Rio Grande Valley, garden area of the Southeast. Millions of dollars were lost in property damage and uncounted thousands were driven from wrecked or damaged homes.

“Edinburg, Texas, Sept. 6 (UP). – Troops and relief workers were rushed into the devastated lower Rio Grande valley today, flooded in the wake of a hurricane which killed 62 persons, injured approximately 1,500 and caused damage of more than $10,000,000 in Texas and Mexico. The towns of Brownsville, San Benito, and Harlingen were under martial law. With communication still impaired to many points, reports of death and destruction came her from scores of towns in the path of the hurricane which had disappeared inland today.

“Thirty persons were reported dead in Matamoros, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville. The Matamoros Cathedral collapsed during the storm. The victims were believed to have taken refuge in the church….Twenty others were reported dead in other sections of the Mexican border city where many adobe houses were melted by the rain and rising water.

“Ten more reported dead without confirmation on the Brownsville side of the river. Three were reported dead at San Ben Benito, famous as a citrus shipping center. Two hundred were reported injured at Mercedes. Forty were hurt at Weslaco and 20 at San Juan. Many of the injured were so badly hurt by collapsing houses they were expected to die. In Harlingen the known death toll was two, with 53 injured. The causeway connecting Corpus Christi with lowlands across the bay was washed out but damage in that area was comparatively light.

“McAllen was without water or lights last night. Water also was cut off in Harlingen, San Benito and Brownsville. Highways, railroads and airports were flooded in a wide area….

“Major General Edwin H. Winans of Fort Sam Houston ordered 150 soldiers into the flood area at the request of Gov. Miriam A. Ferguson. They penetrated the region on a special train accompanied by doctors and nurses to set up an emergency hospital and relief station at Harlingen.

“The storm was the most destructive of the year. Some houses at Harlingen were tossed a quarter of a mile by the wind, according to Deputy Sheriff J. D. Boren who made his way here. ‘I saw houses explode as the wind struck them,’ Boren said….Many roofs were blown off with the four walls collapsing and pinning occupants. In Weslaco, houses were pitched like cards. One was lifted off its foundations and pitched end over end for a quarter of a mile. It fell in a tourist camp crushing several small cottages.’ Boren said damage was great at San Juan, Alamo, Donna and San Benito as well as Harlingen and Weslaco.” (Syracuse Herald, NY. “Texas Storm Death Toll Reaches 62,” Sep 6, 1933, pp. 1 & 12.)

Sources

Amarillo Daily News, TX. “Hurricane. Twelve Are Known Dead…” 9-6-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/amarillo-daily-news-sep-06-1933-p-1/

Associated Press. “Bulletin.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-6-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-sep-06-1933-p-1/

Associated Press, Brownsville. “Death Toll From Valley Flood 29.” Denton Record Chronicle, TX. 9-12-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/denton-record-chronicle-sep-12-1933-p-1/

Associated Press. “The Casualty List.” Lubbock Morning Avalanche, 9-7-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-avalanche-sep-07-1933-p-1/

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database. Louvain, Belgium: Universite Catholique do Louvain. Accessed at: http://www.emdat.be/

Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). Baton Rouge LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 377 pages.

Galveston Daily News. “Flood Threat (continued from p.1).” 9-9-1933, p. 14. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-sep-09-1933-p-14/

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Relief Pushed as 24 Dead in Storm,” 9/7/1933, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=45203901

La Feria News. “A Unique Look at the September 1933 Hurricane.” 2015. Accessed 9-23-2022 at: https://laferianews.net/?p=4369

Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “Floods Rising in Devastated Valley,” 9-8-1933, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=114015802

Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “The Casualty List.” 9-7-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-avalanche-sep-07-1933-p-1/

Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. “Twenty-Two Known Dead After Hast Check; Disease Menace is Now Feared in Stricken Area.” 9-7-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-avalanche-sep-07-1933-p-1/

Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.

Purl, S. J.. “The Hurricane In The Rio Grande Valley.” Georgetown Williamson County Sun. 9-15-1933, p. 5. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/georgetown-williamson-county-sun-sep-15-1933-p-5/

Rappaport, Edward N., and Jose Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1491-1996. Updated by Jack Bevin as NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 47, 4-22-1997. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadly.shtml?

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Also 9-22-2022 at: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf

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United Press, Harlingen. “Fear 10 Lives Lost in Storm; Relief Rushed.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-6-1933, p.1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-sep-06-1933-p-1/

United Press, Rio Grande City. “Relief Work Is Resumed In Valley.” Taylor Daily Press, TX. 9-10-1933, p.1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/taylor-daily-press-sep-10-1933-p-1/

United States National Weather Service, Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Texas Weather Forecast Office. The Deadly Story of the 1933 Labor Day Hurricane in the Rio Grande Valley. Accessed 9-23-2022 at: https://m.facebook.com/nt/screen/?params=%7B%22note_id%22%3A378946043484396%7D&path=%2Fnotes%2Fnote%2F&refsrc=deprecated&_rdr

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Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Dead and Injured.” 9-5-1933, p. 1, col. 4. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/valley-morning-star-sep-05-1933-p-7/

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Death List Now 16; 300 Injured In Storm’s Wake.” 9-8-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/valley-morning-star-sep-08-1933-p-1/

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Death Toll Mounts to 21.” 9-13-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/valley-morning-star-sep-13-1933-p-1/

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Plans Being Formulated For Rehabilitation Work; 13 Dead Counted, 200 Injured.” 9-5-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/valley-morning-star-sep-05-1933-p-7/

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “San Benito, Hurricane.” 9-5-1933, p. 1. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/valley-morning-star-sep-05-1933-p-7/

Weather Bureau. “Severe Local Storms, September 1933.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 61, Issue 9, September 1933, pp. 291-292. Accessed 9-22-2022 at: https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/61/9/mwre.61.issue-9.xml