The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest in history, with some eight thousand lives claimed, packed winds in the 150-mile-per-hour range; while Andrew, in 1992, the costliest hurricane in history, with $25 billion in damages, was also officially labeled a Category 4, 155-mile-per-hour storm. Given what was coming at them on Labor Day of 1935,

According to Saffir-Simpson, those who experience a Category 5 storm, the strongest on the scale, can expect the following: “Complete roof failures on many residences and buildings. Some complete building failures. Major damage to all structures located less than fifteen feet above sea level. . . . Intensive winds continue far into inland areas.”