1906 Florida Keys hurricane

About

The 1906 Florida Keys hurricane was a powerful and deadly hurricane that had a major impact on Cuba and southern Florida. The fifth hurricane and third major hurricane of the season, the storm formed from a system near Barbados on October 4. By October 8, it had intensified into a tropical storm, and made landfall as a hurricane in Central America. The hurricane traveled towards Cuba, making landfall and wreaking havoc on the island. The storm then made a third landfall in the Florida Keys during the evening of October 18. At least 240 people were killed as a result of the hurricane, and damages totaled at least $4,135,000.

Of the 240 people killed during the storm, 135 were workers on the Florida East Coast Railway. The hurricane eventually led to the end of pineapple production in the Florida Keys for commercial purposes in 1915, although this was amplified by two further hurricanes in the following years.