text: 1906 florida keys hurricane the 1906 florida keys hurricane was a powerful and deadly hurricane that caused major impacts in cuba and southern florida . the fifth hurricane and third major hurricane of the season , the storm formed from a system near barbados on october 4 . by october 8 , it had intensified into a tropical storm , and made landfall as a hurricane in central america . the hurricane traveled towards cuba , making landfall and wreaking havoc on the island . the storm then made a third landfall in the florida keys during the evening of october 18 . at least 240 people were killed as a result of the hurricane , and damages totaled at least $ 4 , 135 , 000 . of the 240 people killed during the storm , 135 were workers on the florida east coast railway . the hurricane eventually led to the end of pineapple production in the florida keys for commercial purposes in 1915 , although this was amplified by two further hurricanes in the following years . in 1947 , project cirrus , a collaboration of the united states air force , attempted to seed a hurricane ; however , the storm made a sudden re - curvature and came ashore near charleston , south carolina . as a result , several lawsuits were filed , although they were denied after the path of this storm was revealed to have been similar to the 1947 hurricane . meteorological history the hurricane originated from a " cyclonic perturbation " near barbados on october 4 , as reported by local newspapers . on october 5 , no closed circulation was evident in the system . in colón , panama , a report was sent to the weather bureau , reporting sinking barometric pressures on october 6 . it was recognized as a tropical storm early on october 8 , with winds of 40 mph ( 65 km / h ) , while located in the southwestern caribbean sea . as the system continued to move west on october 9 , it strengthened into a hurricane , and while it began to curve toward the west - northwest , further strengthening occurred , as it intensified into a category 2 hurricane . the hurricane made landfall in nicaragua on october 10 as a category 3 hurricane . the system quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it traveled west - northwestward on october 11 , later passing over the gulf of honduras . it later struck belize on october 13 as a strong category 1 hurricane on october 13 , tracking north - northwestward . the system weakened into a tropical storm by october 14 but restrengthened into a category 1 hurricane by october 16 . as the hurricane began to turn northeastward , it continued to intensify , attaining category 3 status by october 17 . the hurricane continued to approach havana during the day , and the hurricane 's center passed east of havana during the evening . the following morning , the hurricane was located over southern florida moving northeastward , and passed east of the coast of south carolina . the hurricane began to weaken as it was forced to curve south - southwestward , striking florida again as the result of a high - pressure area . the system eventually weakened to a tropical depression over florida , and traced southwestward into the gulf of mexico . on october 23 , the remnants of the hurricane struck central america and dissipated on october 23 . preparations and impact central america the town of bluefields suffered moderate damage during the hurricane , including downed trees and damage to roofs . in western nicaragua , widespread flooding damaged roads and disrupted the construction of a port in corinto . in , many plantations were severely damaged , in addition to the destruction of bridges and roads in the city . several landslides occurred , leading to the destruction of many hills . in addition , local crops suffered much damage , including much of the local banana and rubber crops . a large wave measuring 15 feet ( 4 . 6 m ) caused by the storm was described off nicaragua , and caused brief disappearances of the seal cays . along the mosquito coast , the town of was nearly wiped out by the hurricane . damage to fruit plantations in costa rica totaled $ 1 , 000 , 000 . cuba havana sustained major damage from the hurricane , with 50 houses destroyed , and cable operators in miami , santiago , and jamaica were unable to reach telegraph services in the city . the wall of a legation of the united states was blown down . 's sea baths were severely damaged . havana 's streetcar service was temporarily disrupted by the storm . trees were blown down in the parks of havana . twenty people were killed in the city , while in , nine people were killed , with many others missing . in matanzas , the location of the united states ' 28th infantry , tents were destroyed and there was widespread damage . however , nobody was killed or injured in the city . in san luis , tobacco crops were ruined , and 150 tobacco barns in the alquízar municipality were destroyed . the sugar crop in pinar del río province survived well during the hurricane . in the la section of cuba , the banana crops were completely destroyed . rivers topped their banks throughout the country . florida in miami , over 100 houses were destroyed , and the episcopal and methodist churches were completely destroyed . the jail in miami was nearly completely dismantled , and the prisoners were evacuated . in fort pierce , the peninsula and occidental railcar sheds collapsed , with the roofs blown away . a two - story brick saloon was destroyed during the hurricane . the miami telegraph office reported street flooding in the city , and that the telegraph office was flooded . damage in miami amounted to $ 160 , 000 . in key west , houses and trees were knocked down . in st. augustine , the tide was described as the " highest in ten years , " where streets were flooded throughout the city . at least 70 passengers on the steamers st. lucia and peerless drowned during the storm near elliott key . the steamers campbell and the sara were destroyed near the isle of pines , and the sank . telegraph lines were also down south of jupiter . the effects of the hurricane were most severe on the florida east coast railway , where at least 135 people died , 104 of them on houseboat no. 4 , one of the railway 's boats . many of the workers were swept to sea on barges and flatboats ; however , the steamer jenny rescued 42 workers , who were dropped off at key west , while another 24 were sent to savannah , georgia . the railway 's losses totaled about $ 200 , 000 . construction was disrupted for a whole year by the storm , as equipment was reassembled and repaired . many farmers on the florida keys suffered large losses ; orange groves and fields of pineapples were devastated by the storm . six lives were lost on plantations in the keys . at the government wharf , the fessenden was damaged during the hurricane . aftermath following the hurricane , all workers of the florida east coast railway were provided with wooden barracks on land , and several additional safety measures were enforced . the hurricane eventually led to the end of the commercial production of pineapples in the florida keys . in 1947 , project cirrus attempted to use the method of cloud seeding in a hurricane . approximately 180 pounds ( 82 kg ) of crushed dry ice were seeded into the 1947 hurricane . the system was successfully seeded ; however , soon after the seeding , the hurricane changed course and traced toward charleston , south carolina . following the seeding , the project was cancelled and numerous lawsuits were filed as the result of the sudden change of the path in the storm . however , the similar path of this hurricane prevented the success of the lawsuits .