hurricane to threaten the island nation since that of October 1926. Three thousand people sought refuge at El Capitolio, the nation's capitol building. U.S. soldiers stationed at San Antonio de los Baños Airfield were moved to the Cuban army's headquarters in Havana. Pan American World Airways canceled flights to and from Cuba in advance of the hurricane. Storm warnings in the United States were first issued for the Florida Keys on the morning of October 16. The Weather Bureau also noted a serious threat to western Cuba, the Yucatán Channel, and the Yucatán Peninsula. The first hurricane warnings were issued on the morning of October 18. At the height of the storm's impacts on Florida, hurricane warnings encompassed the Florida coast from Cedar Key on the Gulf coast to Fernandina Beach on the peninsula's Atlantic coast. The Red Cross chapter in Key West, Florida, initiated emergency operations on the afternoon of October 17. Of the hurricane evacuees throughout the state, 35,000 stayed at Red Cross shelters. Excluding Key West, 90 percent of residents on the Florida Keys evacuated in advance of the storm. U.S. Army and Navy aircraft and non-essential personnel were evacuated from Florida. In the Miami area, flights were grounded and schools were closed. A total of sixty schools and public buildings in Miami were repurposed as shelters by the Red Cross. The University of Miami suspended classes for a day. U.S. Coast Guard personnel assisted in storm preparations, evacuating small craft and allocating vehicles for municipal emergency use. Schools were closed in Pinellas County in advance of the storm and repurposed as potential shelters, though ultimately none were used. Fort Myers served as a place of refuge for soldiers stationed at nearby Buckingham Army Airfield and surrounding areas around the city. Storm preparations also began farther inland, with relief operations and evacuations in the Orlando area coordinated between the Red Cross and the Army Air Forces Tactical Center. On October 19, 125 people were evacuated from Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms in South Carolina and housed at a county hall. Residents of Avon, North Carolina, were evacuated to Manteo and Elizabeth City late that day in advance of the weakened storm's approach. Five hundred people evacuated Long Beach Island off mainland New Jersey ahead of the hurricane's extratropical stages. Impact In the Monthly Weather Review, the United States Weather Bureau enumerated 318 deaths from the hurricane,