1898 Georgia hurricane

The 1898 Georgia hurricane crossed the coast about midway between Jacksonville and Savannah around 11 a.m. on October 2, 1898.¹ A later NWS Jacksonville reanalysis placed the landfall on Cumberland Island, Georgia, and rated the storm a Category 4.² NHC's best track puts landfall at 1600 UTC on October 2 as a Category 4 hurricane with 115-knot (132 mph) winds and a central pressure of 938 mb.³

At Brunswick, main streets were 4 to 8 feet under water at noon, nearly every business and warehouse flooded, nearly all docks were damaged and five vessels were washed ashore. Losses there were estimated at $500,000.¹ The storm tide stood about 13 feet above mean high water inland at Darien and 18 feet at Sapelo Lighthouse.¹ At Darien 32 people died, and on nearby Campbell Island all but three residents drowned, at least 20 people. Property damage at Brunswick, Darien and the surrounding area was estimated at $1 million.¹ NOAA's Georgia storm tide study puts deaths near Brunswick and on the islands near the mouth of the Altamaha River at nearly 200.⁴ Near Savannah, cotton warehouses and naval stores yards flooded several feet deep, and Hutchinson Island was under 4 to 8 feet of water.¹

In Florida, Fernandina was nearly destroyed, flooding damaged Mayport and Pablo, and damage in the state was estimated at $500,000.¹