The most intense twentieth-century hurricane to strike the Bahamas was the 1929 Florida hurricane; winds of up to were recorded.

"The Florida hurricane was devastating to one vital area, where many growers were washed out - literally," he said.

As the uptick in insurance trading after the Florida hurricanes of 1994 demonstrated, it sometimes takes disasters to give momentum to new products.

To the Editor: In reflecting about a retirement location, I will take a Northeast blizzard any day rather than live through a Florida hurricane.

The public first saw Mr. Brown's folksy manner when he led the response to the 2004 Florida hurricanes.

It could be used for disasters ranging from Florida hurricanes to the tsunamis in South Asia.

One problem was that the San Francisco earthquake, unlike the Florida hurricane, knocked out vital traffic arteries.

Chambers has also used debris from Florida hurricanes in his work.

Last year's Florida hurricanes destroyed his home, so he moved to a trailer by the sea.

Irene was a wet Florida hurricane in October, similar to many hurricanes of the 1930s and 1940s.