 Hurricane Ethel caused substantial beach erosion throughout the barrier islands of Mississippi but brought a relatively small storm surge of 5 feet ( 1 @.@ 5 m ) along the populated coastline . Roughly 1 @.@ 8 miles ( 2 @.@ 9 km ) of the east end of Horn Island ( Mississippi ) was lost . The storm also split Ship Island into two islands , east and west Ship Islands . However , few knew of this split until Hurricane Camille in 1969 Atlantic hurricane season substantially widened the split . The sustained wind reached a maximum of 56 miles per hour ( 90 km / h ) in Biloxi , Mississippi . Throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast , winds reached gusts approached 70 miles per hour ( 110 km / h ) . In Pascagoula , Mississippi , broken glass , fallen trees and signs covered the streets . Several areas were also flooded and power was lost in area where power lines were downed by high winds . Following the storm , Governor of Mississippi Ross Barnett ordered 100 Mississippi National Guard to Pascagoula and requested other troops in other areas . 
