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N0KFQ > TODAY 25.06.07 06:04l 46 Lines 2102 Bytes #-6355 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - June 25
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Sent: 070624/1613Z @:N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA #:22410 [Branson] FBB7.00i $:22410_N
From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@ALLUS
1957 : Hurricane Audrey hits Gulf Coast
A hurricane watch is declared for the Texas and Louisiana
coastlines as a tropical depression from the Gulf of Mexico heads
toward the United States. The storm quickly becomes Hurricane
Audrey, which kills 390 people.
A day after the watch was declared, the residents of Louisiana
near the Gulf of Mexico were told to seek higher ground. By the
time many residents actually began to follow the advice—on the
morning of June 27--it was too late. Roads were already washed
out because of the strong rain and winds and an oil rig in the
gulf had capsized after a storm surge.
Water on the coast reached as high as 15 feet above the normal
high-tide mark. Boats were washed ashore by the tremendous waves.
The towns of Cameron, Creole and Grand Chenier were devastated by
the hurricane. Only one building survived in Creole and only two
were left standing in Cameron, thankfully including the
courthouse that was sheltering many of the residents.
Many people were simply swept away by the floods. Eighteen people
in a single family perished when their home was knocked down and
washed away. Some survivors lived by tying themselves to tree
tops, other by clinging to driftwood. At least one person died
from the bite of a poisonous water snake while clinging to
wreckage. Many bodies were not found for months after the
hurricane--including one that was not recovered until the next
year. It is possible that the death toll from Audrey exceeded 500
people.
Louisiana was not the only place that suffered Audrey’s wrath. A
building in Port Arthur, Texas, collapsed under heavy rain and
wind. As far away as Canada, four people lost their lives at the
tail end of the storm over a week later. More than 40,000 people
were left homeless by Hurricane Audrey. Many were housed at
McNeese State University near Lake Charles, Louisiana, until they
could be permanently resettled. Many victims found it difficult
to rebuild - their insurance offered financial protection from wind
damage, but not water damage.
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