Boats and piers at New London, Conn., are a mess of broken wreckage after the hurricanes. Fire at the height of the storm added to the terror and destroyed a quarter of a square mile of the business district, Sept. 12, 1938. Sights like this were common all along the coast, as new New England faced a cleanup job which took weeks. Photo: AP

Flood waters were at their crest in the 1938 New England hurricane when this photo was made on Sep. 21, in Providence, R.I. Dockhouses float or stand inundated near the railroad bridge over the Seekonk River. A tog lies wrecked in the bridge's crib work. People and property were swept into the river by winds with gusts up to 186 miles an hour, and carried away. At loast 600 were left dead in New England when the storm passed on after several hours of mad fury. (AP Photo) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

This Sep. 21, 1938 photo shows the Strandway in South Boston with 100-mile-an-hour hurricane winds which struck New England hard. It's been nearly 73 years since the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 _ one of the most powerful, destructive storms ever to hit southern New England, as another massive storm bears down. Photo: AP

Scattered over the landscape as if some giant wand had spilled a box of matches is this Westhampton, N.Y. summer residence. The hurricane winds which struck on Sep. 21, 1938 in Long Island . The Rowboat, center right absurdly deposited in someone's yard. (AP Photo) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Raging seas whipped up by Hurricane Carol drive fishing boat crewmen back along the partially submerged dock of the Montauk Yacht Club in Montauk, Long Island, New York, during attempts to secure boats torn loose from their moorings, Aug. 31, 1954. The driving storm caused widespread damage in this fishing and resort area on Long Island?s eastern tip before smashing into southern New England. Photo: AP

Boats sunk, were driven up on dock and buildings knocked into water in the Menemsha section, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Aug. 31, 1954, as a howling hurricane accompanied by fiercely driving rain struck New England causing millions of dollars damage. Photo: AP

Fishing vessels out of New Bedford, Mass., left to right, the Julia K., Lois and J. Henry Smith are shown high and dry at Fairhaven, Massachusetts on Sept. 1, 1954, where they landed after the hurricane Carol swept them ashore, as it swept up the North Atlantic coast leaving in its wake millions of dollars worth of damage. Photo: AP

The bathhouses and tennis courts at Bailey’s Beach, Newport, Rhode Island, show damage on Sept. 1, 1954, in aerial view by wind and high tides from Hurricane Carol which struck the New England area. Windows were smashed in and tennis courts (right foreground) were destroyed as the storm swept up the North Atlantic Coast causing millions of dollars damage. Photo: AP

Debris including heavy rocks, roof tops and portions of buildings are shown around the former Coast Guard station at Narragansett, Rhode Island on Sept. 1, 1954, aftermath of the Hurricane Carol which swept the North Atlantic Coast causing millions of dollars damage. Photo: AP

Steeple of Boston's historic old North Church of Revolutionary War fame heads for street after buffeting by Hurricane Carol which swept through New England area, Aug. 31, 1954. This was the second time that the steeple had been toppled since 1804. Photo: AP

An auto is stranded on Montauk Highway at Napeague, Long Island, New York on August 31, 1954, following Hurricane Carol which caused untold damage on eastern end of the island. In background, left, is radio station WSL, a Mackay radio facility. Framework of the radio tower topped by high winds which reached 90 plus miles per hour in gusts, can be seen at center. At height of storm waves broke narrow waist of Montauk peninsula, channeling through to Napeague bay and making an island of Montauk for a few hours. Photo: AP

Rowboats and powerboats, including the Wild Goose III owned by Bob Pinto of Philadelphia, Pa., are aground at the Boston Yachting Club on August 31, 1954. In a howling hurricane the storm battered eastern Long Island and New England. Photo: AP

All types of boats and floats were driven ashore at the Boston Yachting Club on August 31, 1954, when a howling hurricane accompanied by fiercely driving rain struck New England. Residents along the sea coast were advised by the weather bureau to leave for higher ground. Photo: AP

Hundreds of summer cottages were destroyed when high winds and water caused by the hurricane smashed into the Connecticut shores in Old Lyme, Connecticut on Tuesday, August 31, 1954. This is a typical scene, it shows cottages at Point Woods Beach taking the worst the Long Island Sound had to offer. Photo: AP

Two unidentified yachtsmen hang desperately to a tree which is almost blown over by hurricane Carol at Wollaston Beach in Quincy, Mass., on August 31, 1954. As they watch their yacht smashed against rocks. The severe storm caused millions of dollars of damage as it raked the north Atlantic coast. Photo: AP

High waves roll in over the beach and crash against the boardwalk at Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 31, 1954, driving these youngsters away from the rail. Canvas-covered auto, on display in connection with a local raffle, is pounded by the surf. A fast-moving hurricane with winds up to 100 miles an hour and torrential rains, swept up the Atlantic coast on August 31, hitting New Jersey and New York before throwing its full fury into New England. Photo: AP