Much has been written about September 21, 1938, the day that a massive hurricane hit Long Island. For Jonathan C. Bergman, the more interesting story began the day after. His extensive research focused on the cleanup and disaster relief efforts orchestrated by a shifting network of Red Cross officials, New Deal workers, Suffolk County agencies, churchgoers, and volunteers.

On today’s episode, Bergman takes us through those efforts and the impact the hurricane had on South Shore communities like Southampton and the North Fork fishing industry at Montauk. We also discuss the scope of disaster relief in the United States, from the early days of the Republic up through the emergence of FEMA in the latter 20th century.

Further Research

• Bergman, Jonathan C. 2008. “The Shape of Disaster and the Universe of Relief: A Social History of Disaster Relief and the ‘Hurricane of ’38 ” Suffolk County Long Island New York 1938-41.” Dissertation. State University of New York at Buffalo. 
  • email: jcbesq@yahoo.com
• “The Hurricane of ’38” (The American Experience)
• The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 (National Weather Service)
• “The ’38 Hurricane” (American Heritage)
• Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624-1783 by Matthew Mulcahy (find in a library via WorldCat)
• Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0
• Audio Footnotes:
  • Episode 54: first person accounts of the Hurricane of 38