Hurricane Diane, the most destructive storm of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on August 7 and reached peak sustained winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) as a Category 2 hurricane five days later. Gradually weakening, it made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, as a strong tropical storm on August 17, just five days after Hurricane Connie struck near the same area. After Diane turned northeast, its rain clouds were amplified by moisture coming off warm Atlantic waters. Eastern Pennsylvania suffered record floods, largely in the Poconos and along the Delaware River, that killed 101 people and breached or destroyed 30 dams. Damage was heaviest in Connecticut, where rainfall peaked at 16.86 inches (428 mm); the storm effectively split the state in two by destroying bridges and cutting communications, flooding all major streams and valleys. Record-high tides and flooded rivers heavily damaged Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In Massachusetts, floodwater levels surpassed those during the 1938 Long Island hurricane, breaching multiple dams. Nationwide, Diane killed at least 184 people and destroyed or damaged 15,000 homes. Losses, including lost revenue, topped $1 billion. In the hurricane's wake, eight states were declared federal disaster areas, and the name Diane was retired.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Diane
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1461:
Ming Chinese general Cao Qin staged a failed coup against the Tianshun Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellion_of_Cao_Qin
1679:
Le Griffon, a brigantine built by René-Robert de La Salle, became the first sailing ship to navigate the upper Great Lakes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Griffon
1933:
An estimated 3,000 Assyrians were slaughtered by Iraqi troops during the Simele massacre in the Dahuk and Mosul districts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simele_massacre
1985:
In Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, England, a local magistrate and his family were murdered in what The Times described as "a classic whodunit". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Farm_murders
1999:
The Chechnya-based Islamist militia group Islamic International Brigade invaded the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan in support of the Shura of Dagestan separatist movement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Dagestan
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
green gown: (now archaic, historical) A dress that has been stained green from rolling in the grass; generally with allusion to sexual activity, especially a woman's loss of virginity. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/green_gown
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British "Grand Slam" which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare. The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. And the end is not yet. With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces. In their present form these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.… The fact that we can release atomic energy ushers in a new era in man's understanding of nature's forces. --Harry S. Truman https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman