Killer 'cane

the long version

"On September 16, 1928, after a murderous journey through the Caribbean and the Bahamas, a category 5 hurricane smashed into Palm Beach, Florida, leaving nearly 2,400 corpses in its wake. It remains the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, surpassed only by the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The 1928 hurricane decimated large swaths of land, while the accompanying seventeen-foot storm surge sent water roaring through the neighboring towns of Chosen, Belle Glade, and South Bay."--BOOK JACKET.