On the morning of October 9, 1943, a hurricane struck the Mexican Pacific coast city of Mazatlan with little warning. The storm swept the city with estimated 135 mph winds and killed over 100 people, left thousands homeless, and cause $56 million in damage.
As the storm was striking the coast, Walt Disney, his family, and several employees were flying into the airport. Disney was working on production of the multinational live action-animated film “The Three Caballeros” and was en route from Los Angeles to Mexico City for a meeting. The airplane managed to land and the women were sent to shelter in an airport terminal while the men rode out the storm aboard the aircraft.