Editing Florida Keys (section)

===1935 Labor Day hurricane===
{{Main|1935 Labor Day hurricane}}
The strongest hurricane to strike the U.S. made landfall near Islamorada in the Upper Keys on Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 1935. Winds were estimated to have gusted to {{convert|200|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}, raising a storm surge more than {{convert|17.5|ft|m}} above sea level that washed over the islands. More than 400 people were killed, though some estimates place the number of deaths at more than 600.

The Labor Day hurricane was one of only four hurricanes to make landfall at [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale|Category 5]] strength on the U.S. coast since reliable weather records began (about 1850). The other storms were [[Hurricane Camille]] (1969), [[Hurricane Andrew]] (1992), and [[Hurricane Michael]] (2018).

In 1935, new bridges were under construction to connect a highway through the entire Keys. Hundreds of World War I veterans working on the roadway as part of a government relief program were housed in non-reinforced buildings in three construction camps in the Upper Keys. When the evacuation train failed to reach the camps before the storm, more than 200 veterans perished. Their deaths caused anger and charges of mismanagement that led to a Congressional investigation.

The storm also ended the 23-year run of the Overseas Railway; the damaged tracks were never rebuilt, and the [[Overseas Highway]] ([[U.S. Route 1 in Florida|U.S. Highway 1]]) replaced the railroad as the main transportation route from Miami to Key West.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://overseasrailroad.railfan.net/about.htm|title=about|website=overseasrailroad.railfan.net}}</ref>