1947 was a particularly wet year in Florida; 100 inches of rain fell in South Florida tripling the amount seen in 1945. Then, on September 7, Hurricane “Georges” came ashore at Fort Lauderdale as a Cat 4 storm with hurricane force winds from Cape Canaveral to south of Miami. On October 11, Hurricane “King” snuck up on South Florida from Cape Sable preceded by spectacular thunderstorms and rainfall. The flooding was tremendous—as much as fifteen inches inland; a total of six inches in 75 minutes. Parts of Hialeah were under six feet of water; in Davie the water was waist deep.
Ninety percent of eastern Florida, from Orlando to the Keys, was under water. Weary livestock escaped to local levees and any high ground they could find; they were sharing with deer, wildcats, and rattlers. People attempted to dynamite local damns and locks in an attempt to protect their property turning neighbor against neighbor. Estimated damage from the two storms was $130 million in 1940s dollars. Businesses, homes, and the then-significant agricultural industry were severely impacted.
In 1949, Florida created the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control district, today the South Florida Water Management District, to ensure such extreme flooding never recurs. The is a letter written from Mark Gibson of 430 N.E. Ninth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, to his parents, Dr. and Mrs. J.B. Hanson, of Euclid, Ohio. Gibson recounts his visit, accompanied by his wife, to his in-laws, John and Arlene Hanson, who had recently purchased a ca. 1928 farmhouse located on Griffin Road at what is today 106th Avenue in Cooper City. Apparently the Gibsons did not realize that the stormy weather of the October 11 was actually the second hurricane to hit the area in about a month. But the prospect of a nice dinner was enough to entice them to take the perilous trip to one of the worst-impacted areas in the Great Flood of 1947 during the very height of the storm. This is a rare first hand account of this far reaching event in South Florida history, documenting the conditions in Davie and Fort Lauderdale. Fortunately, our hero made it safely to Davie and back not only once but twice, and survived to tell the tale. Sue Gillis, Curator, Boca Raton Historical Society
Hwy 441 & Griffin Road
looking west from about NW 70 Avenue & Griffin Road
Courtesy of Bill and Ellen Hanson