Camille’s peak winds at Mississippi Coast downgraded from 190 to 175 mph

April 10--Some who knew the late Wade Guice said he must be looking down from heaven wagging his finger at Wednesday's National Hurricane Center report.

Forty-five years after Hurricane Camille destroyed the Coast, a new report says the 1969 storm's wind strength actually peaked at 175 mph -- not the 190 mph that was previously recorded.

According to the Associated Press, researchers from the hurricane center and Florida International University re-analyzed observations from ships, weather stations, coastal radars, reconnaissance planes and satellite imagery.

Former Biloxi Mayor Danny Guice, known as the man who led Biloxi through Camille, laughed when told of the hurricane center's revelation.

"That's ridiculous, really ridiculous," he said. "Actually, I think the wind strength here was more than 190. At the time, they talked about it being over 200 mph.

"They didn't use any records from over here, I guarantee that. When you went down to the beach the next day, the debris was just everywhere. Ships were washed ashore even."

The three-term mayor said Wade Guice, former Harrison County civil defense director, would have something to say about the new report.

"Oh, Wade would be having a fit," he said. "He really would. He was right in the middle of it and would tell you it was well over 200. No question about it."

Survivors' stories

Everyone who lived through Camille has a story to tell about the storm and the decimation it left.

D'Iberville City Manager Bobby Eleuterius remembers his 8-mile walk through the destruction from Oak Street to the Edgewater Hotel, where his family was staying.

"The road was basically all gone so you had to crawl over timber from the houses, vehicles, holes and everything," he said. "It was real bad."

The storm's being downgraded surprised him.

"We were told all throughout the years that East Biloxi had winds in excess of 225 miles per hour," he said. "But I guess as far as a consistent wind, maybe 175 was correct."

The roof stayed on

Harrison County Director of Emergency Management Rupert Lacy remembers when the storm came ashore. Lacy's childhood home was boarded up, but they had to push an old piano up against their sliding back door to keep the wind from coming in after Camille ripped the door off the house.

"Camille was such a compact, fast-moving storm," Lacy said. "The roof on my parents' house almost came off. The insurance adjusters told us that if it would have lasted another couple of hours I may or may not have been here right now. The roof probably wouldn't have been on the house."

Camille is the second-strongest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since 1900. The Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane in 1935 is first with 185-mph winds, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 is third with 165-mph winds.

Category 5 hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of at least 157 mph.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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