This film, produced by Vital Research Films, documents the damage following Hurricane Carla in 1961 along the Gulf Coast, from Houston to Port Lavaca. Filmed on September 14, 1961, scenes include damage to the coastline, damage to livestock, pollution from plants and factories, and police, government, and industry response to the disaster. This film was produced by Vital Research Films and the Texas Industrial Company
Carla is the second most intense hurricane to ever hit the Texas coast (the most intense was the "Indianola" hurricane of 1886.) Though the storm made landfall between Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca, it was so large that the entire coast was affected; over half a million residents were evacuated, and damage was reported as far inland as Dallas. Carla caused $325 million (today $2.03 billion) in damage and killed 31 Texans.
An interesting note from the 1961 hurricane: then little known news anchor Dan Rather reported live during the storm from the Galveston seawall. It was the first live broadcast during a hurricane, later to become common practice in weather reporting.
Share this video
