Features | American Experience | Official Site

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

Helen Joy Lee

Helen Joy Lee, daughter of the founder of the Packard Motor Car Company, summered at Watch Hill, Rhode Island for a number of years.

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

Mrs. Orris B. Norman

Florida resident Mrs. Norman was not surprised and sat down to observe what she thought was a peach of a windstorm.

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

Frank A. Crosson

On September 21, 1938, the headlines in the Boston Evening Transcript read "Czechs in Surrender" and below that: "Raging Floods Sweep N.E. [New England], 11 Dead in 4-Day Rain."

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

The Hurricane's Aftermath

The material damage of the storm has been calculated to be $4.7 billion in 2001 dollars. Six hundred and eighty lives were lost in the destruction and rising waters.

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

A Brief History of the National Weather Service

On November 1, 1870, weather forecasts for the eastern United States were being issued for the first time, although these were just 24 hours ahead.

The Hurricane of '38 | Article

The Perfect Storm

Hurricanes are among earth's most ferocious natural forces. But how do these swirling weather patterns develop?

Fatal Flood | Clip

Flood Film clip

Footage from the 1927 flood, including shots of workers and aerial views of the flooding.

Fatal Flood | Image Gallery

Voices From the Flood

What was it like for the residents of the Mississippi Delta in spring 1927, as torrential rains fell and the river rose steadily to flood stage?

Fatal Flood | Article

LeRoy Percy

Percy ran both his law practice and plantations with a vengeance, and by the early 1900s he controlled plantations exceeding 20,000 acres.

Fatal Flood | Article

Will Percy

Will Percy attended Harvard Law School and returned home to practice law in the family's firm in Greenville, Mississippi as was expected of him.

Fatal Flood | Article

James K. Vardaman

Elected Governor of Mississippi in 1903, James K. Vardaman rode to power on a wave of white populism and racist politics.

Fatal Flood | Primary Source

Robert Moton's Second Report

The Colored Advisory Commission's second report revealed that the government relief effort had made little progress in helping African Americans in the flooded areas.