CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) — 48 years ago on Aug. 3, Hurricane Celia was barreling into Corpus Christi. It made history as only the third hurricane to make a direct landfall on our city.
Celia was the first storm to make a direct hit since 1919.
National Weather Service Meteorologist John Metz compared Celia with our most recent hurricane, Harvey.
"As far as the intensity scale, if we were to compare it to Harvey, it intensified very similar to Harvey," Metz said. "Had a rapid intensification from a Category 1 to a 3 right as it was coming to shore."
Celia came into Corpus Christ extremely fast, and back then, technology was limited. Warnings then were not what they are today. The storm claimed 27 lives -- four in Cuba, eight in Florida and 15 here in South Texas. Nearly 500 people were injured.
As for the damage, Celia left more than $930 million of destruction in its wake.
"The winds were the most damaging of Hurricane Celia, which devastated about 8,000-9,000 homes in our city," Metz said.
If there is a lesson to be learned from the 48-year-old storm, it's preparation. Metz suggests using the anniversary of Celia as a reminder to check your hurricane supplies and plans, reminding us that August and September are "our" months to be ever vigilant.
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