Hurricane of 1933 struck the Eastern Shore 91 years ago today

August 23-24 1933  –  The Hurricane of 1933 also known as the Great Chesapeake and Potomac Hurricane was a transformational storm on the Eastern Shore.  The storm dumped estimates of 20 to 30 inches of rain ahead of  landfall. The 33 storm ended the Golden Age of Virginia’s Barrier Islands.   Prior to the storm, there were houses on Assateague, Hog, Cobb and other barrier islands.   The storm hit on August 23, 1933 and continued for two days. By the time it moved off, the town of Broadwater on Hog Island was practically destroyed, as were houses on Assateague. The resort on Cobb Island was totally destroyed. Wachapreague, Chincoteague and Cape Charles had tides ranging ftom 5 ft. at Chincoteague to 7 ft. at Cape Charles and 10 ft at Wachapreague.  Two deaths were reported, one of which was a baby that was ripped from its mother’s arms by the surging water.

After the storm, houses that were destroyed on Assateague were not rebuilt. At Broadwater on Hog Island owners of surviving homes moved them and the bodies of loved ones buried in the cemetery to Willis Wharf.  Today the community is known as “Little Hog Island” in Willis Wharf.

The Hurricane of 1933 also changed the course of Ocean City.  At the time of the storm Ocean City extended over three blocks south of the inlet.  There was no inlet, but the heavy rains raised the level of Assateague Bay and the water forced what is now Ocean City Inlet to form. Ocean City residents had been long asking for the state to dig an inlet so that boats could have access to the town. Mother Nature did that job at no cost to tax payers.

The highest one minute wind speed at Cape Henry was 82 mph. The 1933 hurricane was only a category one storm using today’s rating system but flooding was intense because the storm stalled over the area before moving off on August 24.