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Backstory: The Hurricane

The hurricane in Hypocrite’s Row is based on the great Sept. 18, 1926, hurricane, still the most powerful storm to strike Miami proper.
      Over 12 hours, the storm ripped buildings, brought torrential rains, and washed boats ashore. Estimates are that sustained winds reached 150. Storm surge sank or beached at least 150 boats and ships. Downtown Miami's waterfront was flooded for two to three blocks inland from Biscayne Bay. Up to five feet of water stood in homes, shops, and hotel lobbies. The Miami River overflowed.
     The fate of Jimmy Chin is inspired by what happened when the storm’s eye arrived. Thousands of people who thought the storm was over emerged to view the damage. A weather official ran out and screamed, “Go back! It’s just the eye!” It was too late. When the second half of the storm roared up, more vicious than the first, people were cut to pieces by flying debris, and cars were washed into Biscayne Bay.
      The hurricane might have been as strong as 1992’s Hurricane Andrew Considering downtown Miami's worth now, hurricane researchers believe that if Andrew, which came ashore far south of downtown Miami, had instead followed the path of the storm, damages would have been more than three times greater.
     As Miami’s real estate boom flourished, northern industry and newspapers had watched it siphon away their people and money. Now they had a boogey man: Hurricanes. Miami’s mayor insisted the city would make a comeback. But for the already shaky boom, the storm was pretty much a knockout punch.