Abdulaziz Maher Alshobaki’s Case Study on the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane in Florida brought winds of intensity greater than 155 mph and was one of the only two storms that caused Category 5 landfall in the US. 

Most casualty from the disaster occured in the Florida Keys, an archipelago that was connected to mainland Florida by a single railroad line. Out of the 423 fatalities, 259 were World War I veterans who were building a second railway from the Keys to the mainland. This was because the rescuing locomotive got stuck on the railway and was unable to reach the veterans in time.

Abdulaziz Alshobaki discusses how combined intervention in behavioral change, technology, and disaster planning can help reduce risk associated with hurricanes. Technology developments in recent years made precise hurricane location possible, even from the time of their formation. Effective collaboration between public health professionals and federal workers will help further reduce mortality from hurricanes by improving the timeliness of disaster mitigation efforts.