November 9, 1932: A Category 4 Hurricane and a 20-Foot Storm Surge Wipe Out Cuba's Santa Cruz del Sur

Most hurricanes call it a season by November. The 1932 Cuba hurricane didn't get the memo. Forming in the Caribbean in late October, it grew into a monster and became the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, holding that top strength for about 78 hours.

By the time it reached Cuba on November 9, 1932, it had eased only slightly. It came ashore on the southern coast of Camagüey Province as a powerful Category 4, with winds estimated near 150 mph, and it brought something even worse than wind: the sea itself.

Survivors in the fishing and port town of Santa Cruz del Sur remembered the water rising slowly before dawn, like a tide that would not stop. By mid-morning the storm surge, about 20 feet high, rolled over the low coastline and pushed miles inland. In a few terrible hours the town was nearly erased. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and only a handful of buildings were left standing.

Official counts put the deaths in Santa Cruz del Sur alone at well over 2,000, and estimates for all of Cuba run to about 3,000 or more, making it the deadliest hurricane in the nation's history. The storm raced across the island in about six hours, then went on to strike the Bahamas as a major hurricane on November 10.

Today a monument and a cross in Santa Cruz del Sur mark the victims and how high the water reached. Meteorologists still study the storm as a sobering reminder that hurricane season doesn't always end on schedule, and that storm surge, not wind, is often the deadliest part of a hurricane.

Sam's Take: This one makes even a squirrel go quiet. If the forecast says get to high ground, I don't argue. I grab my acorns, buckle my SIS-SAM helmet and climb the tallest tree on the hill. Stay safe and listen to the warnings, friends. 🐿️