Hurricane Camille
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Template:Infobox hurricane Hurricane Camille was a Category 5 hurricane that struck the United States at peak intensity near the mouth of the Mississippi River on the night of August 17 during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, causing catastrophic damage. Camille was the only hurricane with winds at 190 mph until Allen in 1980.
The storm made landfall with a pressure of 909 mbar (hPa), estimated sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h), and a peak storm surge of 24 feet (7.3 m); it remains the strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland United States and one of the strongest tropical cyclone landfalls worldwide. The hurricane caused near-total damage along the coast of the US state of Mississippi, and caused additional flooding and deaths inland while crossing the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. In total, Camille killed 256 people and caused $1.42 billion (1969 USD) in damages, making it the most expensive hurricane in U.S. history at the time.
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Storm history
Template:Storm path Camille started as a tropical wave that left the coast of Africa on August 5, but it wasn't until August 14 that it developed a circulation near Grand Cayman. The wave already had strong winds, and was designated Tropical Storm Camille with 60 mph (95 km/h) winds. The storm had a well organized circulation from the start, and rapidly strengthened from August 14 to August 15 to a 115 mph (185 km/h) major hurricane before hitting the western tip of Cuba. Land interaction weakened Camille to a 100 mph (160 km/h) hurricane, but its perfect conditions returned as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico (probably while passing over the Loop Current).
On August 17, Camille reached an extreme minimum central pressure of 905 mbar (hPa), and it continued to strengthen to a peak of over 190 mph (305 km/h) winds (possibly the strongest ever recorded in a hurricane). In the hours before landfall, a reconnaissance aircraft was unable to obtain a surface wind report, but it estimated winds of up to 205 mph (335 km/h).
Camille crossed the southeastern tip of Louisiana, then hit near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on the night of August 17. The storm weakened rapidly over land, becoming a tropical depression over northern Mississippi on the 19th. Camille turned eastward as it moved inland, and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia Beach, Virginia on the 20th. The depression restrengthened over the Gulf Stream, and briefly attained a peak of 70 mph (110 km/h) before becoming extratropical on the 22nd. Template:Most intense hurricanes
Records
Camille produced the seventh lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, a scant 905 mbar; the only hurricane to hit the United States with a lower pressure at landfall was the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The wind speed of Camille can only be approximated, as no meteorogical equipment survived the extreme conditions at landfall, but Camille is estimated to have had sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h) at landfall, with gusts exceeding 210 mph (340 km/h). Before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Camille likely had the highest storm surge measured in the United States, at over 24 feet (7.3 meters).
The 24-foot storm surge quoted by the Army Corps of Engineers was based on high water marks inside surviving buildings, of which there were but three. Prior to the collapse of the Richelieu Apartments, Ben Duckworth shined a flashlight down a stairwell and found the water within one step of the third-story floor; this establishes a surge height of 28 feet at that spot at that time. About 15 minutes later, the building collapsed and the evidence vanished with it.
In addition, Camille forced the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a river-distance of 125 miles (from its mouth to a point north of New Orleans). The river further backed up for an additional 120 miles, to a point north of Baton Rouge. For more details about these and other records, see Zebrowski & Howard's book, CATEGORY 5: The Story of Camille--Lessons Unlearned from America's Most Violent Hurricane.
Impact
Template:Tcexpand Template:Most intense US hurricanes Making landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, Camille caused damage and destruction across much of the Gulf Coast of the United States. The area of total destruction in Harrison County, Mississippi was 68 square miles (176 km²). <ref name="harrison">Harrison County Camille Information</ref> The total estimated cost of damage was $1.42 billion (1969 USD), or $8.889 billion (2004 USD); at the time this made Camille the second-most expensive U.S. hurricane of all time (behind Hurricane Betsy) though it would later be surpassed by numerous other hurricanes <ref>http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost2.shtml</ref>. The storm directly killed 143 people along Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. An additional 113 people perished as a result of catastrophic flooding in Nelson County, Virginia. In all, 8,931 people were injured, 5,662 homes were destroyed, and 13,915 homes experienced major damage, with many of the fatalities being coastal residents who had refused to evacuate. Image:Wea02407.jpg
Gulf Coast
Upon making landfall, Camille produced a 24 foot storm surge, though its large circulation also resulted in a 3 to 5 foot storm surge in Apalachicola, Florida. Its Category 5 strength winds are only estimated, due to the lack of wind reports near the center, though the NASA site at Picayune, Mississippi recorded an estimated gust of 160 mph with a pressure of 950 mbar. While moving over southeastern Louisiana, the Weather Bureau Office at Boothville reported wind gusts of 107 mph. Because it moved quickly through the region, Hurricane Camille dropped only moderate precitipation in most areas, though more than 11 inches of rain occurred in Hancock County, Mississippi. Most other areas reported from 1 to 6 inches. <ref name="nhc6">NHC Camille Report Page 6</ref>
Ohio Valley
While moving through Virginia and West Virginia, Camille dropped torrential rainfall of 12 to 20 inches, with one unofficial report of 31 inches. Most of the rainfall occurred in Virginia during a 3-5 hour period on August 20. <ref name="mrw">1969 Monthly Weather Review</ref> The flooding led to overflown rivers in the 2 states, with the highest amounting being the James River in Richmond with a peak crest of 28.6 feet. Many rivers in Virginia and West Virginia set records for peak flood stages, causing numerous mudslides along mountainsides. In addition severe flooding in the Virginias, Camille caused moderate rainfall in Tennessee and Kentucky of up to 5 inches, helping to relieve a drought in the area. <ref name"tcr8">Camille Tropical Cyclone Report Page 8</ref>
Because the hurricane was expected to quickly dissipate, few were prepared for the flash flooding. <ref name="mrw">1969 Monthly Weather Review</ref> This lack of preparation caught people off guard, and over 100 people died between Tennessee and Virginia. <ref name="geo">HURRICANE CAMILLE - August 17, 1969</ref> The flooding also resulted in extreme damage. In Nelson County alone, 133 bridges were washed out, while some entire communities were under water. <ref name"tcr8">Camille Tropical Cyclone Report Page 8</ref>Throughout Virginia and West Virginia, Camille destroyed 349 houses, 83 trailers, 730 farm buildings, and 96 buildings. 4,128 familes were affected by the hurricane in the area, and total damage amounted to $140.8 million (1969 USD, $747 million 2005 USD). <ref name="mrw">1969 Monthly Weather Review</ref>
Retirement
Template:Seealso The name was retired after the 1969 season.
Trivia
Comparisons to Hurricane Katrina
Comparisons between Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 season and Camille are inevitable because of their similar strengths and nearly identical landfall locations. Before Katrina, Camille was considered to be the "benchmark" against which all Gulf Coast hurricanes were measured. Katrina was weaker than Camille at landfall but substantially larger, which led to both a broader and a locally larger storm surge. Katrina was described by those that experienced Camille as "much worse" - not only because of the massive storm surge, but from the fact that Katrina pounded the Mississippi coast for a longer period of time. Camille also drew part of its record storm surge from adjacent coastal waters; Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain actually receded, sparing the city of New Orleans from flooding.
Some locals argue that Katrina's death toll was made higher because those who survived Camille with no flooding and little damage believed Katrina to be less of a threat, creating a false sense of security among Camille veterans. This can be seen in the story of the Harbour Oaks Inn, where innkeeper Tony Brugger stayed and died when his inn collapsed<ref>http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051121/NEWS0110/511210355/1002/NEWS01</ref>. A popular rumor has Brugger telling a radio station during an interview that he wouldn't leave because since Camille's surge had not affected the inn, Katrina's would not either.
Naming
In 1969 the naming conventions for hurricanes were not strictly controlled as they are today. There were only three requirements: the name had to be female (male names were not used at that time), the names had to remain in alphabetical order, and the name could not have been retired. John Hope, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center had a daughter who had just graduated from high school. He added her name — Camille — to the list of storm names for the year, having no way of knowing that the storm bearing her name would become infamous.
The Hurricane Party
One persistent legend about Camille states that a hurricane party was held on the third floor of the Richelieu Manor Apartments in Pass Christian, Mississippi, in the path of the eyewall as it made landfall. The high storm surge flooded and destroyed the building, and there was only one survivor to tell of the story of the others. Who the survivor is, how many party guests there were, and just how far the sole survivor was swept by the storm varies with the retelling. Image:Richeliu aptb.jpg Image:Wea00423.jpg In reality, most of the people that stayed in the Richelieu Apartments survived, but there is heavy debate on whether or not there was a party. Interviews from the local TV news station, WLOX, interviewed people who claimed to have stayed in the Richelieu Apartments. Among the survivors was the manager, who supposedly stayed in the Manager's Office while the party was going on. The wall of the office collapsed, causing water to come in. The manager claimed to have used a nearby object to stay afloat on the water until the storm receeded. Though other people have claimed that the residents, exhausted from preparing the town to weather the storm, took refuge in the building not out of recklessness, but because it was believed to be one of the sturdiest buildings in the area. Survivor Ben Duckworth is quoted in Hurricane Camille: Monster Storm of the Gulf Coast as stating that the Richelieu was a designated civil defense air-raid shelter. However, their faith in the building's sturdiness was unfounded, as it was completely demolished by the storm. Twenty-three people are known to have stayed in the Richelieu Apartments during the hurricane, of whom eight died. Image:Richeliu apt.jpg The tale of the lone survivor and the party appears to have originated with survivor Mary Ann Gerlach. Other survivors, including Duckworth and Richard Keller have expressed irritation at the story <ref>http://www.upress.state.ms.us/features/camille/interview.html</ref> <ref>http://www.hurricanealley.net/camillemyth.htm</ref>. "The hurricane party never happened, nor were the number of deaths associated with the apartment inhabitants accurate," says Pat Fitzpatrick, Mississippi State University professor and author of Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook <ref>http://www.ur.msstate.edu/news/stories/2004/hurricanebook.asp</ref>.
The mythical hurricane party has been referenced several times in pop culture, and formed the basis for an episode of Quantum Leap titled "Hurricane" (season 4, episode 3).
See also
- List of notable tropical cyclones
- List of notable Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
External links
- Harrison County Library's Camille Page
- Thirty Years After Hurricane Camille: Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost, Roger A. Pielke, Jr., Chantal Simonpietri, and Jennifer Oxelson, July 12 1999.
- Track of Camille's eye at landfall
- Storm surge profile
Notes
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Template:1969 Atlantic hurricane season buttonsde:Hurrikan Camille fi:Hurrikaani Camille fr:Ouragan Camille pt:Furacão Camille sv:Orkanen Camille