The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1866

Natural disasters are nothing new to the Caribbean region and the Bahamas is no exception. However, the Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1866(sometimes also referred to as ‘The Great Bahama Hurricane of 1866’ or ‘The Gale of 1866’[in those days hurricanes were simply referred to as ‘Gales’ rather than hurricanes]) was definitely one of the most dangerous, destructive and enduring hurricanes to ever make its trek across these Bahamian Islands. The exact death toll is unknown but it was estimated that as much as 387 persons died in this deadly hurricane. In 1866 the colony of the Bahamas was heavily dependent on sponging, fishing, farming and wrecking and salvaging for their livelihood. The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1866 was uniquely different than many of the more recent destructive Bahamian hurricanes like Andrew, Floyd, Frances and Jeanne. Simply because it occurred in the late 1800’s at a time when the technology that we have today was not available for storm tracking. There were no satellites, radars, radios, televisions, or computers to give the residents of these islands any kind of advanced notice that a storm was approaching. This storm sneaked up on these islands like a thief in the night, causing widespread chaos and significant damage to many homes and businesses. The collapse of blockade running had produced an awful slump, and then the hurricane came along and destroyed what was left of the Bahamian economic way of life. This storm was a classical Cape Verde-type hurricane and was first observed on September 24 off the coast of Africa. This well-known intense hurricane was well documented around the region and in the Bahamas. The New York Times, October 25, 1866 reported that the ship ‘Jarien’ from Rio de Janeiro encountered this hurricane in the Central Atlantic. This is the earliest and easternmost report of an encounter with this storm. It headed west-northwestward, reaching major hurricane strength north of the Lesser Antilles on the 29th. As it neared the Bahamas it strengthened to a powerful 140 mph Category 4 hurricane, causing widespread damage across the islands and leaving behind a significant death toll. This storm left St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands, on the morning of September 28, 1866 where several ships were blown ashore and a pier demolished. By the early hours of September 30th it was affecting the Turks and Caicos Islands where 75% of the entire population was left destitute and homeless because the storm destroyed hundreds of homes, resulting in 63 deaths. This storm then entered the islands of the Southeast Bahamas where Mayaguana recorded gale force winds coming from the north-east. By eight o’ clock that morning the hurricane had progressed as far as Matthew Town, Inagua, and a ‘light wind’ was reported at Fortune Island(now Long Cay), just northwest of Crooked Island. San Salvador (then Watlings Island) received the outer fringes of the hurricane at three in the afternoon, and by eight o’clock in the evening of Sunday, September 30th, Cat Island and Long Island were being battered by the storm. It was at that time that the first evidence of the storm was felt in Nassau. The day had passed as usual; the people had attended the usual evening church services, spending the hours after on their verandas socializing. The air was still and as one writer in the Nassau Guardian noted, “all was calm and tranquil…there was, however, a peculiar reddish hue in the heavens…and an unusual warmth in the atmosphere.” At eight o’ clock that evening, the winds were blowing from the north and it grew stronger as the night progressed and the barometer reading was 30.16 inches on the day of the 30th to 29.80 inches at 11:00am the following morning. The hurricane remained over Nassau for the rest of the day, the twenty three diameter eye passed over the town in the early evening. There was a lull then for as long as an hour and a half; then the winds increased in intensity from the opposite direction and continued to blow violently until 2:00am (on October 2nd) when it gradually subsided. The barometric pressure, taken during the lull, was as low as 27.70 inches, and was recorded about half an hour before the winds began to blow again. Sea surges swamped the harbour, disregarding the islands which normally acted as a buffer against these storms. A writer who talked with eye witnesses a few years later recalled, “The Ocean rolled completely over Hog Island in surges so enormous that the crest was even with the gallery of the lighthouse, sixty feet above the sea. Houses and forests went down before the wind like reeds; many which withstood its force when it blew from the north-east collapsed when it shifted to the south-west. In twenty-four hours the city was like a town sacked and burned by the enemy…” The hurricane moved away from New Providence quickly; by the morning of October 3, it had left the waters of the Bahamas. It then recurved out to sea without affecting any other landmasses. The last report on the system was on October 5, after resulting in massive casualties in the Bahamas, it caused an additional 250 deaths from the steamer Evening Star (from Sinking of the Titanic). It is very possible that the hurricane was stronger while over open waters in the Atlantic, but the meteorological records from the 1800s and early 20th century were very sparse and also contributed to the reduced number of tropical cyclones in the hurricane season archives of 1866.