Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille was one of the most powerful hurricanes to make landfall in the United States when it hit southern Mississippi in August 1969. A devastating tropical cyclone, Camille was one of four Atlantic hurricanes to strike the United States as a Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale, the highest category corresponding to maximum sustained winds of at least . The third named storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression on August 14 south of Cuba from a long-tracked tropical wave. Amid favorable conditions for development, Camille strengthened and struck western Cuba the next day as a hurricane. Upon entering the Gulf of Mexico on August 16, Camille strengthened further, first into a major hurricane, and then into a Category 5 hurricane, late on August 16. After briefly weakening, the hurricane intensified as it approached the northern gulf coastline. Early on August 18 as it moved ashore near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Camille attained maximum sustained winds of 175 miles per hour (280 kilometres per hour), and a minimum pressure of 900 millibars (26.58 inches of mercury). Throughout the United States, Camille killed at least 343 people. This included 55 indirect fatalities, mostly from cardiovascular failure. The hurricane also caused at least $1.42 billion in damages in the United States, making it the country's most expensive hurricane at the time, surpassing Hurricane Betsy in 1965.

Before entering the Gulf of Mexico, Camille brought high winds and caused major river flooding to parts of Cuba, killing at least five people. After the hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico, the United States Weather Bureau issued widespread hurricane warnings and watches from Louisiana to Florida. Off the coast, Camille's strong winds produced high waves that destroyed three oil platforms and flooded several others. In southern Mississippi where it moved ashore, the hurricane produced the largest storm surge in American history at the time, with a peak water level of recorded at Pass Christian; it was later surpassed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm surge and high winds caused tremendous damage, flattening nearly everything along the Mississippi coast and portions of southeast Louisiana. The winds devastated the region's agriculture, and contributed to the end of tung oil production in the United States. In Mississippi, 172 people died, while another nine died in Louisiana.

The hurricane weakened quickly as it pushed inland, falling below hurricane strength north of Jackson, Mississippi, and weakening further to a tropical depression over Tennessee. In parts of Mississippi and Tennessee, the rains helped end drought conditions. However, as Camille tracked through the Ohio Valley as a tropical depression, it generated severe thunderstorms that led to a cloudburst over parts of Virginia. The highest rainfall total was , recorded in a trash barrel near Massies Mill; this was the highest rainfall recorded in the state related to a tropical cyclone. The rains led to damaging floods across the Appalachian Mountains, killing over 153 people in Virginia and another two in West Virginia. After emerging into the western Atlantic Ocean, Camille restrengthened to a strong tropical storm before becoming extratropical on August 22. The name Camille was retired following the 1969 hurricane season.

Meteorological history

Hurricane Camille's precursor was a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of West Africa near Dakar, Senegal, on August 5, 1969. The wave moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean, tracked by satellite imagery. On August 9, the associated thunderstorms concentrated into a circular area of convection while located about 500 mi (800 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. On the next day, the wave moved through the island chain and continued into the Caribbean Sea. By August 13, its convection spread from near Jamaica to the northeast through the Bahamas, although there was no evidence of a closed circulation. The thunderstorm developed banding features, and although it is unclear exactly when tropical cyclogenesis occurred, a tropical depression formed around 00:00 UTC on August 14. At the time, it was located roughly halfway between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Upon being classified as a tropical storm, Camille was located within an area conducive to further strengthening, with light wind shear and warm, moist air coming from the south. The outflow to the north was amplified by a cold core low over the Mississippi Valley, while a narrow ridge of high pressure existed northeast of the storm. The NHC later wrote that "it was apparent almost from the outset that Camille would be an explosively deepening storm."

thumb|Radar loop of Hurricane Camille before making landfall in Mississippi late on August 17|alt=A radar loop of Hurricane Camille shows its track near Louisiana and Mississippi

As it continued toward the Gulf Coast of the United States, Camille maintained a small eye, which began to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle. Observations from the Hurricane Hunters indicated that Camille weakened, dropping to Category 4 status late on August 17. Dropsonde data from the flight indicated a central pressure of , before the plane was forced to end its mission early due to a damaged engine. Camille subsequently re-intensified as it neared the coast. From 02:30–03:30 on August 18, the hurricane moved across marshlands in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, while the center of Camille remained just offshore the state. At 04:30 that day, Camille made landfall at Waveland, Mississippi, with peak winds of 175 mph (280 km/h). The NHC originally assessed that Camille was even stronger at landfall, with estimated sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h), before a reanalysis in 2014 was completed. As Camille moved ashore, an observer in Bay St. Louis measured a minimum pressure of on the edge of the eye. The reanalysis concluded that Camille made landfall with a minimum central pressure of .

Within 14 hours of moving ashore, Camille weakened to tropical storm status, as the track shifted to the north. It curved around the western periphery of the ridge near Bermuda. At 10:00 on August 18, the NHC discontinued advisories while the center of Camille was located near Jackson, Mississippi. After moving across Mississippi, the storm weakened into a tropical depression over Tennessee on August 19, by which time Camille began a turn to the northeast. By this time, the track was influenced by a stationary cold front that extended from Nebraska to North Dakota. On August 20, the circulation accelerated eastward, moving through parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, and later Virginia. After moving through the Blue Ridge Mountains, Camille began to re-intensify despite still being over land as it encountered an area of higher moisture content.

Records

Camille produced the eighth–lowest official sea level pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, at .

When Camille moved ashore Mississippi, it produced the highest storm surge recorded in the continental United States at the time. The powerful waves destroyed most tidal gauges near the coast. Based on the debris levels in Pass Christian, Camille produced tides as high as . The high water mark for an enclosed building was above mean sea level, recorded at a Veterans of Foreign Wars building in town.

After moving across the south-central United States, Camille dropped torrential rainfall in central Virginia. The highest observed rainfall was , recorded in a trash barrel near Massies Mill that had been emptied before the rains began. This was the highest rainfall recorded in the state from a tropical cyclone. The practice of retiring hurricane names was meant to be temporary, with the guideline that a name be retired for ten years. When the name Carla was retired in 1961, it was replaced on the 1965 list with Carol, a name retired in 1954 when its namesake devastated New England. Since over a decade had passed, Carol was eligible for reuse. Carol entered the 1969 list, but scientists from the National Hurricane Research Laboratory (NHRL) asked the naming committee in January 1969 to permanently retire Carol, Edna, and Hazel since papers were still being written about the storms. The committee agreed but needed a replacement "C" name. Banner Miller, a member of the National Hurricane Research Laboratory, suggested Camille, named after the daughter of NHC worker John Hope. Camille had carried out a research project for school and impressed Miller. "We kept it quiet for many years," Camille said in an interview .

Preparations

left|thumb|National Hurricane Center Track Forecasts for Camille from western Cuba onward. The system's actual track is marked by the line farthest to the west.|alt=A map displays the National Hurricane Center forecasts and the actual track on a map

Shortly after Camille formed, the National Hurricane Center advised residents on the Isle of Pines and in western Cuba to prepare for gale-force winds, heavy rains, and rising tides. The agency also recommended small boats to remain in harbor.

On August 14 upon Camille's first advisories, the Weather Bureau alerted the Army Corps Mobile District about a possible hurricane emergency in a few days. This gave days of warning to move offshore barges and other vessels to safer harbor. The Weather Bureau issued evacuation warnings on August 17 between Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama. Complications during evacuations included residents' skepticism of the predicted winds or storm tide, as well as confusion over the hurricane's anticipated landfall. Television coverage for the New Orleans media market underplayed the specifics of the impacts, while a few radio stations broadcast outdated weather reports. More than 44,000 people sheltered in Mississippi, including about 15,000 people who stayed at Keesler AFB.

After Camille weakened and moved inland, local weather bureau offices continued to monitor the storm, expecting that the remnants would reach western Pennsylvania. The only nearby weather radar stations were in Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., too far away to detect the thunderstorms in western Virginia. Weather forecasters only predicted upwards of of rainfall for the region. Due to the lack of real-time rainfall information, forecasters were unable to issue flood warnings in mountainous regions of Virginia.

|scope="row"| Louisiana

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| In addition, a plane crashed during takeoff at New Orleans' Lakefront Airport, killing four people, while carrying supplies to the Mississippi coast. More than 9,000 people were injured by the hurricane.

Along the United States gulf coast, Camille had a variety of damaging effects that impacted agriculture, housing, transportation, and utilities. From Louisiana to Mobile Bay, all Coast Guard buoys were moved or damaged, which disrupted navigation and cost $1.2 million to repair. Nearly every pier along the gulf in Alabama and Mississippi was destroyed, and many piers in Florida were damaged. The hurricane severely damaged sugar and tobacco plantations. About 20,000 people were left homeless in the province.

In its formative stages, Camille produced light rainfall and squalls across Grand Cayman. The hurricane increased rainfall across Central America. In Costa Rica, the rains caused flooding and clogged sewer lines in the capital city San Jose.

In the open Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane produced wave heights of , as measured by Shell Oil Company. This greatly exceeded the predicted maximum wave heights of when the oil platforms were first built. Along the ocean floor, the storm created mudslides, and the combination with strong waves and winds destroyed three oil platforms, including one that at the time was the world's deepest oil well. Property damage to the offshore oil industry were initially estimated at $100 million. The strongest winds associated with Camille were recorded by an anemometer on a drilling rig off the eastern Louisiana coast; the device recorded a gust of , along with 10-minute sustained winds of , before it failed. Floodwaters reached upstream the lower Pascagoula and Jourdan rivers. An anemometer near the site measured winds of at a height of for an extended period and the facility also estimated wind gusts as high as . There were no direct wind observations near the landfall location; however, researchers estimated that wind gusts reached . The Monthly Weather Review described the resulting impacts as "characteristic of the wind damage ordinarily associated with major tornadoes." Keesler AFB in Biloxi recorded wind gusts.|group=nb

In Mississippi, Camille killed 172 people, including 41 people who went missing and were never found. The hurricane also inflicted about $950 million worth of damage in the state. Across Mississippi's southernmost 15 counties, the hurricane damaged of commercial forestlands to some degree. Strong winds knocked down the equivalent of about 1.2 billion board feet (2.8 million km<sup>2</sup>) worth of lumber, of which more than 85% was salvageable. Many pecan orchards were also damaged.

Camille had its most significant impacts near the coast. Large portions of U.S. Highway 90 were damaged or blocked by sand and debris. At Pass Christian, the waves destroyed about 35% of the town's seawall. The hurricane also destroyed the town's Trinity Episcopal church, originally built in 1849, which killed 15 of the 16 people who took shelter there. The Dixie White House, where President Woodrow Wilson and his family once stayed, was badly damaged, and subsequently torn down after the hurricane. Also in town, the hurricane destroyed a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In Bay St. Louis, the hurricane destroyed a L&N railroad bridge. The port at Gulfport was largely destroyed, with only a portion of one wharf available for use after the hurricane. Also in Gulfport, the high waves beached a barge, leaving it on the median of U.S. 90, while also washing ashore three large cargo ships – the Alamo Victory, the Hulda, and the Silver Hawk. Of the three ships, only the Alamo Victory was refloated. Keesler AFB sustained about $4.8 million in damage. In Long Beach, 36 buildings at the U.S. Naval Construction Center were destroyed, while hundreds of structures required new roofs, estimated at 90% of the buildings at the complex. In Pascagoula, the hurricane washed ashore the SS Mormacsun. Every building on the campus of Pearl River Community College was damaged, one of them being totally destroyed. In Picayune, a high school was heavily damaged by a collapsed smokestack. In Poplarville, an estimated 90% of homes were damaged. Two schools in the city and a manufacturing plant were heavily damaged. A steel forestry service observation tower was uprooted by its foundation. The tung crop in the county was a near total loss. In Columbia, the storm caused extensive damage, unroofing buildings and knocking down large numbers of trees. Camille blew out storefront windows and damaged buildings in Simpson County, including the county courthouse. The storm passed over the Ross Barnett Reservoir, causing a pileup of of water at the dam, leading to slight damage.

Louisiana

thumb|left|Road damage along [[U.S. Route 90|U.S. Highway 90|alt=Portions of U.S. Highway 90 sustained damage]]

While near peak intensity, Camille's eye crossed over the marshlands of eastern St. Bernard Parish. Due to the lack of dry land in the vicinity, it was not considered a landfall, although Camille still produced Category 5 hurricane-force winds in eastern Louisiana. Two people drowned in Slidell after driving into a flooded canal during the hurricane. Strong winds damaged storefronts in the downtown area and small planes at Lakefront Airport. Outside of the city, wind gusts in Boothville reached before the instrument lost power. The barometric pressure fell to at Garden Island. At least 94 ships in the Mississippi River sank or washed ashore. In Boothville-Venice, the combination of winds and storm surge destroyed the local weather bureau office, fire station, and school. The hurricane uprooted vegetation along the Mississippi River delta; plant regrowth occurred quickly in marshes, but took longer in bodies of water.

Alabama and Florida

thumb|upright=1.2|Map of rainfall associated with Hurricane Camille in the United States|alt=A map displays rainfall totals from Camille across the United States

The hurricane's high floodwaters extended into Alabama, reaching upstream the Mobile River from Mobile Bay. Storm surges in Alabama peaked at on Dauphin Island and at Gulf Shores. Across the western Florida panhandle, Pensacola Naval Air Station measured of rain, while a station in the city recorded wind gusts of . Ahead of its landfall, Camille spawned an F0 tornado in Pensacola, which damaged a building and a car. Another F0 tornado touched down in Santa Rosa County. Camille's damage across Florida was estimated to be around $500,000. This included beach erosion and crop damage, with pecan and corn the most affected. West of the storm's center, rainfall reached in Eudora, Arkansas, the highest precipitation total in the state. The rains caused damaging flash flooding in Nicholas, Greenbrier, and Summers counties. The Greenbrier River crested at , or above flood stage. Two people died in Renick, West Virginia, when floods trapped them in their house. In Anjean, floods washed out 30 homes. Statewide, the floods damaged 356 houses and trailers, including 48 that were destroyed. The floods also damaged or destroyed five businesses, along with 315 farm buildings. Statewide damage totaled $750,000.

Camille's floods produced what the USGS described as "the worst natural disaster ever to strike Virginia." Most of the deaths were due to blunt trauma from mudslides. There were eight fatalities that were unidentified. Statewide, the floods destroyed 313 homes along with 31 trailers, while also causing severe damage to another 415 homes and 65 trailers. An additional 1,870 homes had minor damage. The monetary costs of Camille in Virginia totaled $140 million. In the Davis Creek community in the county, the floods swept away 23 houses, leaving only two standing, resulting in at least 27 fatalities. Most of the community of Massies Mill was destroyed, sparing only two houses and a church.

Elsewhere

In Maryland, Camille brought heavy rains, peaking at at Princess Anne. The rains caused localized flooding, which closed roads and washed out a few bridges. The rains damaged a junior high school in Princess Anne after floodwaters reached deep. Near Great Mills, 14 residents evacuated by helicopter due to the floods. Minor flooding occurred in Delaware. Precipitation from Camille reached as far north as Pennsylvania, with a total of recorded in Somerset. In neighboring New Jersey, Cape May recorded of rainfall.

Aftermath

thumb|Debris from Camille|alt=Camille left behind significant debrisIn the days after the storm struck Cuba, the government deployed medical teams to affected regions to provide typhoid vaccine shots. Officials noted the potential for the spread of disease, due to flooding from Camille as well as previously wet conditions. Federal agencies that assisted in the relief efforts included the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEC), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the departments of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Rescues occurred as late as August 24, when a helicopter spotted a family of 12 people that was without food or water for days. The Department of Health provided $4 million towards medicine, vaccines, and other health related needs. The Federal Highway Administration helped fund repairs to roads, paying the entire cost of federal-Aid highway repair and reconstruction. By January 1970, over $13.71 million worth of highway projects had been approved. The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration assisted with sewage treatment in Mississippi and Virginia and helped clean up an oil spill in the Boothville-Venice area of Louisiana.

The Farmers Home Administration designated 33 counties in Mississippi as emergency areas. The Post Office Department spent over $100,000 restoring service and repairing 46 post offices affected by the storm.|group=nb Camp Shelby opened and temporarily housed about 5,000 residents, and was likewise forced to integrate; this was despite the New York Times describing the camp as, "one of the least integrated of all of the U.S. military bases". The University of Southern Mississippi held 5,000 people displaced by Camille. Mississippi segregated buses of evacuees from Pass Christian, sending black people to Jackson State College while sending white people to the Robert E. Lee Hotel in Jackson, though the latter allowed black refugees on a separate floor.

thumb|left|Ruins of a gas station in Biloxi, Mississippi|alt=A gas station and car was largely destroyed by Camille

Mississippi Governor John Bell Williams activated more than 1,200 National Guardsmen to help protect against looting and look for survivors. Martial law was declared for Plaquemines Parish and the city of Bogalusa, Louisiana. Various nongovernmental agencies and volunteers helped in the aftermath of the hurricane, including the Salvation Army. The American Red Cross opened up 29 relief centers, operated 27 mobile units, and set up seven food kitchens. The Red Cross faced criticism for racial bias in aid distribution. In Jackson, Mississippi, comedian Bob Hope hosted a telethon that raised more than $1.3 million toward helping storm victims.

Across coastal areas, roads were closed for several days due to a combination of building debris and fallen trees, with of roads and streets affected. The Army Corps of Engineers coordinated debris removal, and within a week of the hurricane, all major roads were opened. Over a three-month period, more than 300,000 truck loads were transported to one of 17 emergency dump sights. Efforts to salvage timber in the affected region began a few days after Camille passed, producing over 100 million board-feet of pine wood. The reduced tree coverage across southern Mississippi decreased squirrel and bird populations in the area. The 43rd Engineer Battalion of the Army Corps cleared Mississippi beaches of deceased animals, removing worth of carcasses by August 24. The odor of decaying animals persisted for about a week after the storm. Seabees also shot stray starving dogs, while the local shelter in Harrison County helped care for cats and dogs displaced by the storm. To control the spread of mosquitos, four aircraft from Keesler AFB sprayed malathion at a low altitude between Pascagoula and Waveland, Mississippi. The storm had long-lasting effects on agricultural products in the region. The tung industry, already reeling from freezes in previous years and unfavorable economic conditions, never recovered from losses inflicted by the storm and tung was largely replaced by other crops. Pecan production in Mississippi saw a significant decline following the storm, with the 1970 crop yielding 27% of the previous 5-year average. Following Camille's passage in Virginia, an orchard in Lovingston produced a new variety of apple that became known as the Ginger Gold.

Insured losses from the storm were estimated to be at least $135 million. Most insurance policies in the affected areas did not cover damage due to flooding or waves, and ultimately, only 20% of flood damage was covered by insurance. The hurricane affected local economies. Economic activity in Harrison County spiked following the storm, with a significant increase in sales of lumber and building materials. Most of the new housing construction was in rural areas of the county outside of Biloxi and Gulfport. Unemployment in the county spiked to 12% the month after the storm and did not return to pre-Camille levels until August 1970.

Long-term redevelopment was overseen by the Department of Commerce, which contributed $30 million towards planned and coordinated redevelopment of affected areas. NOAA Weather Radio was expanded to coastal locations during the 1970s, based upon recommendations made by the Department of Commerce in September 1969. In 1973, the hurricane hunters and their associated reconnaissance aircraft relocated to Keesler AFB, following the closure of their previous headquarters in Ramey, Puerto Rico. Prior to Camille, only two communities had been made eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program. In December 1969, the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 was amended with an emergency program to extend federally subsidized flood insurance to communities that had not undergone rate making studies. Partly due to Camille's aftermath and the need for more federal coordination, the United States Congress passed the Disaster Relief Act of 1969. This was followed by the Disaster Relief Act of 1970, which removed the American Red Cross as the lead volunteer organization, a position it held since 1905. Congress later passed the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, which required training for state and local emergency management agencies. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter issued an executive order establishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), consolidating federal disaster agencies.

In 2004, the city of Biloxi opened the Hurricane Camille Memorial, which was damaged a year later by Hurricane Katrina.

Due to the high death toll and major destruction the hurricane caused in much of the Southern United States, the name Camille was retired after the 1969 season, and will never again be used for an Atlantic basin tropical cyclone. The name Cindy was selected to replace Camille in 1973. In 2024, researchers estimated that Camille would cause $59 billion in damage if it struck in 2022, based on population and wealth changes.

Notes

References

External links

Harrison County Library's Camille Page
Hurricane Camille Photograph Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History