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The wind that shook our world:

The hurricane of 1938 killed hundreds
and caused $100 million of damage

As if things were not bad enough in Depression-ravaged Rhode Island, the worst natural disaster ever to visit the state blew in with 100-mph winds on the afternoon of September 21, 1938.

Before it was over, some 300 Rhode Islanders had died and damage was estimated at more than $100 million. Here's how the "Great Gale" affected our state:

When downtown Providence went under water
Without little advance warning, winds as high as 100 miles per hour struck the capital city. Formerly tree-lined neighborhoods were stripped of half their trees, telephone and power lines were downed and buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Wind, water and woe in South County
Morning unfolded bright in Jamestown, but soon, gusts whistled in. By the time Clarke Elementary School ended its day in midafternoon, sullen breakers clawed at the edges of the island.

Nothing slowed the 'Great Gale' in West Bay
On the shoreline of Oakland Beach, a longtime resident recalled: "I was 10 years old at the time. My friends and I walked home from the Oakland Beach School that afternoon and we thought it was quite funny that trees were being uprooted."

Barrington residents recall storm's battering
In the Bay Spring and Annawamscutt Beach communities — two of the hardest hit — 75 homes were destroyed, the report said. The entire town lost power, gas and water, and many of the major roads were blocked by fallen trees.

For Tiverton man, a harrowing brush with death
The Hurricane of '38 spawned a slew of astonishing tales of survival, not the least of which was the story of Richard A. Peckham, an attendant on the Stone Bridge over the Sakonnet River.

Hurricane compounded troubles in Mass.
As residents coped with the economic disaster, nature rained her fury on them in 1938. Literally tearing up towns in spots, wiping out dwellings from shorelines, rolling parts of the bay onto streets, uprooting trees, and sending roofs flying all in a sudden, thunderous, crashing, shrieking surge.