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Stormy Memories of Carla
In September 1961, John F. Kennedy had been president for nine months; Alan Sheppard had just become the first U.S. astronaut in space; and construction of the Berlin Wall was under way. "West Side Story" was premiering at the cinema, gasoline was 27 cents a gallon, and a storm was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
It began as a tropical depression in the Caribbean and by Sept. 6, it was a full-blown hurricane sliding over the warm waters of the Gulf, skirting the Yucatán and gathering strength as it headed for the Texas Coast. Bearing the name Carla, it moved slowly and strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane, with winds up to 175 mph.
Fifty years ago today, it made landfall 120 miles southwest of Galveston between Port O'Conner and Port Lavaca. The storm hurled torrential rains and 11 tornadoes in its wake. Thirty-one people died in Texas; six of them on Galveston Island.
Hurricane Carla left her mark on Galveston
GALVESTON When Hurricane Carla slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast about 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, 1961, it blew right into weather history.
September 11, 2011
Well, I didnt name my firstborn after Carla
Patti Smith writes about her experience riding out Hurricane Carla while being pregnant.
September 11, 2011
Area residents remember storm
When Hurricane Carla rolled in, five county residents recall their experiences during the storm.
September 11, 2011
No matter what, the paper must go on
Crystelle Pierce writes about her experience during Hurricane Carla and helping deliver copies of The Galveston Daily News and Tribune.
September 11, 2011
Carla Letters for Sept. 11, 2011
Readers offer their remembrances of Hurricane Carla through letters submitted for the 50th anniversary of the great storm.
September 11, 2011
Carla meant a great deal in my life
Hurricane Carla meant a great deal in my life, because it was a force for good as well as destruction in Galveston.
September 10, 2011
The water was so high that he carried me
It was September 1961, and I was 3 years old living on Galveston Island.
September 10, 2011
'We expected to be there 24 hours...'
We were a young married couple with two babies, both in cotton diapers as there were no Pampers back then.
September 10, 2011
I remember vividly the sound of the storm
I was just beginning eighth grade at Kirwin High School when Hurricane Carla struck the island.
September 10, 2011
I will never forget the smell
One or two weeks before Hurricane Carla, I dreamed that I looked out of our bedroom window and saw floodwaters surrounding our home.
September 10, 2011
Blessings found in the midst of chaos
After hearing Hurricane Carla being compared to the 1900 Storm, my family evacuated our home at 17th and Market streets.
September 10, 2011
I will never forget the event
When Hurricane Carla came to town, I was an assistant district attorney.
September 10, 2011
I watched the water rise higher and higher
I thought I would never see a storm that bad again.
September 10, 2011
City services were nonexistent for weeks
Guest columnist Vandy Anderson recalls his experience during Hurricane Carla as a young radio reporter.
September 08, 2011
Carla Letters for Sept. 8, 2011
Readers offer their remembrances of Hurricane Carla through letters submitted for the 50th anniversary of the great storm.
September 08, 2011
So much for luxury accommodations
Katherine Thatcher remembers surviving Hurricane Carla at an island hotel.
September 07, 2011
It was quite an adventure riding out storm
Rex Ross and his family rode out Hurricane Carla in a hotel.
September 07, 2011
My heart nearly came out of my mouth'
Karen Ganter finally felt safe during Hurricane Carla once she got her family to her parents' house.
September 07, 2011
Carla Letters for Sept. 6, 2011
Readers offer their remembrances of Hurricane Carla through letters submitted for the 50th anniversary of the great storm.
September 06, 2011
Taking a stand during and after the storm
Sam Collins III shares a story about his grandmother taking a stand in the midst of Hurricane Carla.
September 06, 2011
Ursuline Academy a victim of Hurricane Carla
Each hurricane has its tragedies. However, no one would have ever imagined that the Ursuline Academy would become a storm victim.
September 06, 2011
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