Hurricane Fifi–Orlene

Hurricane Fifi, later known as Hurricane Orlene, was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that killed over 8,000 people in Honduras in September 1974, ranking it as the third deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, only behind Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and the 1780 hurricane. Fifi is also the first billion-dollar hurricane not to make landfall in the United States. Originating from a strong tropical wave on September 14, the system steadily tracked west-northwestward through the eastern Caribbean. On September 16, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Fifi just off the coast of Jamaica. The storm quickly intensified into a hurricane the following afternoon and attained its peak intensity on September 18 as a strong Category 2 hurricane. Maintaining hurricane intensity, Fifi brushed the northern coast of Honduras before making landfall in Belize the following day. The storm quickly weakened after landfall, becoming a depression late on September 20. Continuing westward, the former hurricane began to interact with another system in the eastern Pacific.

Early on September 22, Fifi re-attained tropical storm status before fully regenerating into a new tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Orlene. Orlene traveled in an arced path toward Mexico while quickly intensifying into a Category 2 hurricane before landfall. The storm weakened after landfall and dissipated fully during the afternoon of September 24 over the mountains of Mexico. Along its path, Fifi impacted nine countries, leaving over 8,200 fatalities and $1.8 billion (1974 USD; $  USD) in damages. Most of the loss of life and damage occurred in Honduras where rainfall from the hurricane, peaking around , triggered widespread flash flooding and mudslides.

In a single town, between 2,000 and 5,000 people were killed overnight after a massive flood inundated the area. Fifi brought continuous rainfall to the area for three days, hampering relief efforts in what was the worst disaster in Honduras' history at the time. In nearby Guatemala, an additional 200 people were killed by severe flooding, making Fifi the worst hurricane to impact the country in nearly 20 years. Following the catastrophic damage wrought by the storm, relief agencies from around the world flew in emergency supplies to assist the hundreds of thousands of homeless people. Countries closer to Honduras, such as the United States, set up city donation centers that would send supplies to the country. In efforts to prevent the spread of post-storm diseases, the government allowed the burning of bodies as they were recovered. In a single day, up to 6,000 bodies were burned. Due to the extreme damage and loss of life, the name was retired from the list of Atlantic hurricane names and has not been used since.

Meteorological history

Hurricane Fifi originated from a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on September 8. As the storm entered the Atlantic, satellite imagery showed that the system was already well-developed. Traveling westward, the wave entered the Caribbean Sea by September 13. Soon after emerging into the Caribbean, convective activity quickly increased. The following day, a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft flew into the system and found a developing low-level circulation. Operationally, the system was not declared a tropical depression by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) until late on September 15; however, in the Atlantic hurricane database, it was determined that it had become a tropical depression during the afternoon of September 14. The NHC initially forecast the depression to continue its west-northwest track, eventually brushing Cuba, although the storm never took the northerly turn. The storm turned slightly southwestward, and by September 18, Fifi reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a barometric pressure of 971 mbar (hPa; ). This made Fifi a high-end Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, Around this time, the hurricane had nearly doubled in size, with a gale diameter now covering an area across.

thumb|right|Hurricane Orlene on September 23 just prior to its landfall upon northwest Mexico

Although earlier in the season Hurricane Carmen had attained Category 4 status in a similar location, Fifi was unable to intensify further due to its proximity to land. Most of the southern portion of the circulation was inhibited by the mountains of Honduras as it passed within of the coast. Fifi maintained its peak intensity for roughly 24 hours until it began to weaken shortly before making landfall near Placencia, Belize with winds of . When it moved back over open waters, Fifi re-attained tropical storm status; however, it only maintained this intensity for 18 hours before being renamed Orlene.

After the formation or merger of the systems, Orlene began to intensify. During the afternoon of September 23, the storm intensified into a hurricane as it quickly traveled towards the north-northeast. Shortly before making landfall, a small eye developed within the center of the hurricane, resulting in the NHC upgrading it to a Category 2 storm with maximum winds of . Small craft advisories were also issued for portions of southern Cuba as Fifi bypassed Jamaica. Ships were advised to remain in port throughout the Cayman Islands as residents began to prepare for hurricane-force winds.

Honduras

Fifi first became a threat to Honduras on September 17 when the storm reached hurricane strength, at which point forecasters revised their forecasts to anticipate landfall in Honduras or Nicaragua on September 18 or 19. In response, officials in Honduras urged hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate from coastal and flood-prone areas. Despite the warning, relatively few heeded these evacuation orders, likely playing a role in the large loss of life following the storm. In just 24 hours, 182 towns and villages were completely destroyed. According to the Red Cross, between 800 and 1,200 people died within 12 hours of Fifi's landfall in Honduras. Buses driving through mountain passes skidded off the sides of cliffs due to slick roads, killing numerous people. Flash floods destroyed thousands of homes and isolated numerous towns. Waves, reaching in height, destroyed moorings and grounded numerous ships.

Although by this time the storm was situated inland over Mexico, its circulation continued to produce thunderstorms over Honduras, hindering rescue efforts. Nighttime rescues were prevented by dense fog blanketing most of the mountain valleys.

The death toll rose by the hundreds every day; at one point, the official death toll was estimated as high as 10,000. It was eventually lowered to third after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 wrought similar destruction in the same region, leaving between 11,000 and 18,000 dead.

Throughout the country, Fifi inflicted nearly $1.8 billion (1974 USD; $  USD) as part of what was, at the time, the worst natural disaster in Honduras' history. Due to the damage that Fifi caused, Fifi is the costliest Atlantic Hurricane to reach a maximum of Category 2. However, the Honduran government estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 were left homeless. The country's banana crop was completely destroyed by the hurricane; as a result, its economy was severely affected. Much of Central America north of Nicaragua was impacted by the hurricane. Rainfall reaching affected areas as far north as Campeche, Mexico. The heavy precipitation led to significant flooding across the country as dozens of rivers exceeded their banks; hundreds were left homeless. The communities of La Conquista, Dulce Nombre, San Gregorio and San Vicente were isolated by flood waters after roads leading to them were washed away. In Chiquito, Izapa and Tamarindo, more than ten homes were destroyed and 50 people left homeless due to the storm. After the Río Coco overflowed its banks in Jinotega, 120 homes were destroyed, leaving 113 families homeless. Numerous other communities sustained similar damage throughout the country, especially near the Honduras border. Hundreds of people in the town of Wiwili clung to treetops and roofs along the Coco River.

Although the storm made landfall in Belize, the country suffered considerably less damage than in nearby Honduras. However, winds up to were recorded. The combination of winds and torrential rains damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes in Belize. Despite the severity of the damage, there were no reports of fatalities in Belize. In El Salvador, the outer bands of Fifi produced flooding rains that killed at least ten people.

Mexico and Arizona

As Fifi tracked over Central America, the outer fringes of the storm produced of rainfall as far north as Campeche. Mexico sustained little or no damage from Hurricane Fifi.

Aftermath

{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="float:right;margin:0 0 0.5em 1em;"

|+ Impact by area

! scope=col| Region

! scope=col| Direct deaths

! scope=col| Damage

| Jamaica || 0 || $1,000s

| Honduras || 8,000–10,000 || $1.8 billion

| Nicaragua || 0 || Unknown

| Belize || 0 || $800,000+

| El Salvador || 10 || Unknown

| Guatemala || 200 || Unknown

| Mexico || 0 || Unknown

! Total || 8,210+ || $1.8 billion+

Response and assistance

In the wake of the storm, relief agencies and the Honduras government were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster. By September 24, planes filled with relief supplies were being flown to Honduras from the United States, Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela. Relief crews, overwhelmed by the number of bodies, began taking desperate measures to prevent the spread of diseases. An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 bodies were burned by September 24. During several of the later rescue missions, people died from starvation and malnutrition on board the helicopters. From nearby Belize, Britain deployed 57 soldiers with motorboats to rush food to survivors in flooded regions. A group of 41 Cuban medical experts, including 21 doctors, treated nearly 900 in a period of two days.

thumb|right|Storm total rainfall for Fifi/Orlene in Mexico

By September 24, more than 350,000 people sought refuge in shelters set up throughout the country. Red Cross volunteers were overwhelmed by the number of families requesting help to find missing relatives. Relief planes sent by the United States were initially delayed by continued inclement weather. Several days after the storm's passage, they were able to land in the country. These planes were loaded with food, clothes, water, medicine and other emergency supplies.

Donation centers were set up throughout major cities in the United States by the Honduran Government. They planned to fill three planes and five or six ships with supplies that would be brought to the country. In St. Petersburg, Florida, a team of 14 doctors was sent to the country on October 9. Other doctors set up fund drives, one set for $50,000; however, officials in Honduras believed that this would be nowhere near the necessary funds for what would become a multibillion-dollar disaster. Numerous other nations and relief agencies joined in the effort to aid Honduras in what was considered one of the largest relief operations in history. Days after the storm, brigades, deployed by the Honduran military, began to reach the hardest-hit areas as floodwaters started to recede.

From Miami alone, 14 tons of relief goods were donated to Honduras. One group of people from a Baptist church in Texas spent $30,000 on a custom-designed food wagon to distribute food to the people of El Progreso. In some areas, residents did not know how to use certain supplies, such as toilet paper and tea bags, due to their culture and isolation from urban areas. "...a British helicopter team dropped toilet paper and tea bags to the people of El Progreso, who are unfamiliar with both items. Using the toilet paper as wrappers, the villagers smoked the tea."

In Honduras, the Red Cross and other relief agencies quickly attempted to unload planes to assure that supplies would reach victims. However, some of the supplies were hoarded by the Honduran military as they quickly went to unload the planes. One of the incidents took place after a plane carrying supplies from Argentina landed and the military forced the volunteer members away from the plane. Once in the hands of the military, the fate of the supplies was unknown. As the full amount of supplies did not reach victims, reports of people starving to death surfaced. Eventually, relief crews found these reports to be true as they distributed food to those who survived.

Following the storm, the country's economy suffered for two years. During this time, the annual deficit reached $200 million, against the annual income of $153 million.

Rebuilding

In 1977, a large-scale reconstruction project involving six villages across Honduras began. The first of the six project areas contained 121 homes with an average of 25 square meters of space. It was located along an important highway in northern Honduras; however, the rebuilding was initially delayed by erosion issues. The second plan consisted of 127 homes roughly a mile south of the first. The third, consisting of 26 concrete homes, was placed in the city of El Progreso. This project was determined to house the most people per home, roughly seven occupants for a preliminary total of 182 people. The fourth was the most isolated of the six planned constructions. In a rural area far outside urban regions, 92 homes were planned to be constructed. The fifth project, consisting of 33 homes, was placed close to the first project, having a similar access to the major highway. The final housing project, and largest, was set up south of the destroyed town of Choloma. A total of 600 homes, all built on concrete blocks and doubled up, were placed in this housing project.

On October 3, 1974, Guatemalan businessmen Dionisio Gutiérrez and Alfonso Bosch died when they went by plane to support the victims of Hurricane Fifi–Orlene in Honduras. The plane was carrying a shipment of medicines that had been collected by the Rotary Club of Guatemala but was crashed by weather conditions and cargo near the village of Las Nubes. The descendants of the deceased, owners of companies such as Pollo Campero, Avícola Villalobos and Empacadora Toledo created the Juan Bautista Gutierrez Foundation to centralize a series of social projects that they had carried out for several years.

Retirement

On account of the severe damage and high death toll from the hurricane in the Atlantic basin, the name Fifi was retired at the end of the 1974 season. It will never again be used to name a tropical storm in the basin.

References

External links

Hurricane Fifi Preliminary Report