A historic hurricane made landfall 75 years ago Saturday, lashing Long Island with whipping winds and torrential downpours that killed dozens and destroyed thousands of homes and summer cottages across the region.
The deadly storm—dubbed Long Island Express—barreled into LI as Category 3 hurricane on Sept. 21, 1938. It slammed the area with such force that it formed 10 new inlets from Fire Island to East Hampton.
The storm developed near Cape Verde Islands and charged through LI with 120 mph sustained winds that crushed homes and downed more than 20,000 miles of telephone lines, according to the National Weather Service.
The hurricane was blamed for around 60 deaths on LI.
It flooded coastal communities from Long Island to New England.
The National Weather Service has created a 75th Anniversary page on its website, which features video footage from the storm, photos of the carnage and historical facts.
The 75th anniversary of the Long Island Express comes a little more than a month before the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.
