Hurricane Mitch

Hurricane Mitch was an extremely powerful, deadly and catastrophic tropical cyclone in 1998 that caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America, becoming the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. It was the deadliest hurricane in Central American history, surpassing Hurricane Fifi–Orlene, which killed slightly fewer people in the same area in 1974. Mitch was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in the satellite era, and the second-deadliest on record in the Atlantic, only behind the Great Hurricane of 1780, which killed at least 22,000 people.

The thirteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, Mitch formed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, and after responding to extremely favorable conditions, it rapidly strengthened to peak at Category 5 status, the highest possible rating on the Saffir–Simpson scale. After drifting southwestward and weakening, the hurricane hit Honduras as a minimal Category 1 hurricane. Mitch roved through Central America, regenerated in the Bay of Campeche, and ultimately impacted Florida as a strong tropical storm. It then became extratropical and accelerated northeastward across the North Atlantic, before dissipating on November 9. At the time, Mitch was the strongest Atlantic hurricane observed in the month of October, surpassing Hurricane Hattie of the 1961 season. The record would stand for seven years until it would be broken by Hurricane Wilma of the 2005 season. In addition, Mitch is the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, tied with Hurricane Dean in 2007 in terms of pressure.

Being "the deadliest Atlantic hurricane" in over 200 years, Mitch caused catastrophic impacts across its path, but the most disastrous impacts came from Honduras, which suffered over half of the total deaths. The president of Honduras, Carlos Roberto Flores, estimated that Mitch set back about 50 years of economic development. The storm wrecked about 35,000 houses and damaged another 50,000, leaving up to 1.5 million people homeless, about 20 percent of the country's population. Mitch directly caused $2.005 billion in damage, with an additional $1.8 billion in indirect costs. Most of the damage were ruined crops, and cash crop exports were cut by 9.4 percent in 1999, largely due to the storm. Over 70 percent of the transportation infrastructure was damaged, mostly damaged highways and bridges. Widespread areas experienced power outages, and about 70 percent of the country lost its water sources after the storm. In Tegucigalpa, a large landslide affected three neighborhoods and formed a temporary dam. Throughout the country, there were at least 7,000 fatalities, some reported in each department. Following the storm, officials in Honduras requested international assistance, which totaled $2.8 billion over a several-year period. Despite this, the gross domestic product began decreasing at the end of 1998, and contracted by 1.9 percent in 1999. Officials enacted a widespread curfew following the storm, and for 15 days temporarily restricted constitutional rights to maintain order. There were outbreaks of various diseases, and many residents faced food and water shortages.

Due to the slow motion from October 29 to November 3, Hurricane Mitch dropped historic amounts of rainfall in Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, with unofficial reports of up to . Deaths due to catastrophic flooding made it the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history after the Great Hurricane of 1780; at least 11,374 people were confirmed to have been killed with over 11,000 left missing by the end of 1998; the true death toll is unknown. Additionally, roughly 2.7 million were left homeless as a result of the hurricane. Total damages caused by the hurricane were estimated to be around $6 billion (1998 USD). The name "Mitch" was retired, and will not be used for another Atlantic tropical cyclone.

Meteorological history

Tropical Depression Thirteen formed on October 22 over the southwestern Caribbean Sea, from a tropical wave that exited Africa on October 10. It executed a small loop, and while doing so intensified into Tropical Storm Mitch. A weakness in a ridge allowed the storm to track slowly to the north. After becoming disorganized due to wind shear from an upper-level low, Mitch quickly intensified in response to extremely favorable conditions, including warm waters and good outflow. It became a hurricane on October 24 and developed an eye. After turning to the west, Mitch rapidly intensified, first into a major hurricane on October 25 and then into a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale the next day. and the hurricane made landfall on Honduras on October 29 with winds of . The surface circulation dissipated on November 1. The next day, the remnants of Mitch reached the Bay of Campeche. On November 3, the remnants redeveloped into a tropical storm just off the coast of the Mexican state of Campeche, and a day later the storm made another landfall just north of the city of Campeche. Mitch accelerated to the northeast ahead of a cold front, moving across the Yucatán peninsula and re-entering the Gulf of Mexico. The storm retained winds of before it made a final landfall near Naples, Florida on November 5. Shortly after crossing the state, Mitch transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The NHC tracked this storm until November 9, when former Hurricane Mitch passed north of Scotland. Within a few hours, a hurricane warning was in place between Limón to the Honduras and Nicaragua border, including the offshore Swan Island. When Mitch still failed to turn to the north, the government of Honduras issued a hurricane warning for the remainder of their coastline. Due to the threat, the government of Honduras evacuated some of the 45,000 citizens on the Bay Islands and prepared all air and naval resources.

The government of Belize issued a purple alert and asked for citizens on offshore islands to leave for the mainland. Because the hurricane threatened to strike near Belize City as a Category 4 hurricane, much of the city was evacuated in fear of a repeat of Hurricane Hattie 37 years earlier.

Impact

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right;"

|+ Impact by region

! Region !! Deaths !! class="unsortable"|Ref !! Damages !! class="unsortable"|Ref

| Belize || ||

| Costa Rica || || || || || || || ||

| Jamaica || || The flooding caused the Choluteca River to change its course, forming an avulsion. Widespread flooding near the northern coast left behind about of sediment, which ruined forests and shrimp ponds. Flooding also affected the Pacific coast along the Gulf of Fonseca, leaving behind debris and sediment.

While offshore northern Honduras, Hurricane Mitch passed over Guanaja island. High waves eroded northern coastlines and damaged lagoons.

Overall, Hurricane Mitch killed about 7,000 people in Honduras, Honduras's Social Fund for Housing estimated that 35,000 houses nationwide were destroyed with another 50,000 damaged,

An estimated 70–80% of the transportation network was destroyed, including most bridges and secondary roads, and occurring on the eastern end. Winds there were generally less than 185 km/h (115 mph), and the tree damage was more random.

Nicaragua

right|thumb|Flooding in [[Lake Managua after the hurricane]]

Though Mitch never entered Nicaragua, its large circulation caused extensive rainfall, with estimates of over . The flank of the Casita Volcano failed and turned into a lahar from excessive rain. The resulting mudslide ultimately covered an area long and wide. 340 schools and 90 health centers were severely damaged or destroyed. Sewage systems and the electricity subsector were severely damaged, and, combined with property, damage totaled to $300 million (1998 USD).

left|thumb|Casita volcano in western [[Nicaragua after deadly mudslide]]

Transportation was greatly affected by the hurricane, as well. The rainfall left 70% of the roads unusable or destroyed and greatly damaged 92 bridges. Over of highways or access roads needed replacement subsequent to the storm, especially in the northern part of the country and along portions of the Pan-American Highway. Total transportation damage amounted to $300 million (1998 USD). Agricultural losses were significant, including the deaths of 50,000 animals, mostly bovines. Crops and fisheries were affected greatly as well, and, combined with agricultural losses, damage totaled to $185 million (1998 USD).

In all, Hurricane Mitch caused at least 3,800 fatalities in Nicaragua, of which more than 2,000 were killed in the towns of El Provenir and Rolando Rodriguez from the landslide at the Casita volcano. The mudslide buried at least four villages completely in several feet of mud. Throughout the entire country, the hurricane left between 500,000 and 800,000 homeless. In all, damage in Nicaragua is estimated at $1 billion (1998 USD). The hurricane left three casualties in Panama. leaving 4,000 homeless. Crop damage was severe, with serious flooding occurring on of pasture or crop land. The flooding destroyed 37% of the bean production, 19% of the corn production, and 20% losses in sugar canes. There were heavy losses in livestock as well, including the deaths of 10,000 cattle. Total agricultural and livestock damaged amounted to $154 million (1998 USD). In addition, the flooding destroyed two bridges and damaged of unpaved roads. In all, Mitch caused nearly $400 million in damage (1998 USD) and 240 deaths. The flooding caused extensive crop damage and destroyed many roads. Throughout the country, eleven people died because of the hurricane. while the highest rainfall total was in Ciudad del Carmen.

Caribbean Sea

Mitch was also responsible for the loss with all hands of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' schooner Fantome. The story was recorded in the book The Ship and The Storm by Jim Carrier. The schooner, which was sailing near the center of the hurricane, experienced over waves and over winds, causing her to sink off the coast of Honduras.

On the south coast of Cuba, the hurricane caused waves of up to high and winds gusts peaking at , causing numerous tourists and workers on the Isle of Youth and Cayo Largo del Sur to leave for safer grounds.

In Jamaica, where officials declared hurricane warnings 12 hours prior to its closest approach, In all, Mitch killed three people on Jamaica.

Florida and Europe

left|thumb|Mitch redeveloping in the Bay of Campeche on 3 November.

Then a tropical storm, Mitch caused a storm surge of up to in the lower Florida Keys before making landfall on the Florida west coast. Key West International Airport reported peak wind gusts of and sustained winds of , the only report of tropical storm force in the state. In addition, Mitch caused moderate rainfall, peaking at in Jupiter, though some estimates indicate localized totals of up to . The storm spawned five tornadoes over the state, the strongest of which was rated F2.

Aftermath

right|thumb|Cleanup in [[Tegucigalpa]]

As a result of the extreme damage and catastrophic loss of life caused by Hurricane Mitch, particularly in Central America, the name Mitch was retired by the World Meteorological Organization following this storm, and will never again be used for a North Atlantic tropical cyclone. It was replaced with Matthew for the 2004 season.

After the disaster, countries around the world donated significant aid, totaling $6.3 billion (1998 USD). Throughout Central America, which was recovering from an economic crisis that occurred in 1996, many wished to continue the growth of the infrastructure and economy. In addition, after witnessing the vulnerability to hurricanes, the affected governments endeavored to prevent such a disaster from occurring again.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes, but many took this as an opportunity to rebuild stronger houses. With a new, structurally improved foundation, homes were redesigned to be able to withstand another hurricane. However, lack of arable crop land took away the jobs from many, decreasing an already low income even lower. In Costa Rica, reconstruction after the hurricane increased the number of jobs by 5.9%, lowering the unemployment rate slightly.

While stalling over the western Caribbean Sea, Mitch's strong winds produced strong waves, damaging local coral reefs. Later, the storm's immense rainfall led to runoff polluted with debris and fresh water. This resulted in diseases occurring within the coral. However, the hurricane's upwelling cooled the warm water temperatures, preventing significant bleaching and destruction of the coral reef.

Honduras

thumb|A completely-destroyed building caused by Mitch

Then-president Carlos Roberto Flores estimated that Mitch reversed 50 years of progress in the country. Officials estimated it would take at least 15 years to rebuild completely. The national gross domestic product (GDP) only grew at a rate of 3% due to the storm, compared with 5.1% in 1997, due to damaged infrastructure and lingering effects. The Honduran government increased spending by 24.7%,. much of it emergency funds to restore communications and provide relief, which caused economic deficits.

In the storm's immediate aftermath, officials enacted a widespread curfew after reports of looting and vandalism. The government temporarily restricted constitutional rights for 15 days. Officials urged residents to restrict water and fuel use, and alcohol sales were halted. There were widespread food and water shortages, leaving villagers near-starvation. Overall cost for reconstruction was estimated at $2.5 billion, which was estimated to take four years. The cost for repairing the damaged houses was estimated at $484.8 million. Following the storm, workers made emergency repairs to the destroyed bridges and roads. The cost for rebuilding roads was higher than their damage cost due to planning for future flooding. Within a month, there were repairs to the power grid to a level of 550 MW, or 91.7% of what it was before Mitch struck. Water companies restored water to 60% of Tegucigalpa within a month of the storm striking. Hundreds of refugee centers each holding thousands of displaced Hondurans were set up in cities. However, many of these centers were ineffective at providing food and resources. Part of this was due to confusion between the government, churches, and local commerce groups over how supplies were to be allocated and distributed. There were significant resources intended for refugees, but authorities often hoarded it in heavily guarded warehouses. The entire hurricane and subsequent refugee crisis did bring to light the problems Hondurans faced relating to contagious diseases, and the country received considerable medical attention in the aftermath of Mitch.

Outside of cities, the recovery took longer, with rural areas receiving little areas compared to urban areas. The destruction of crops also led to malnourishment and starvation for Hondurans, worsening the already existing problems related to disease. Despite the damage, the hurricane helped some rural populations because it forced a change in how the groups used their land. A study in 2002 found that the damaged forests allowed for more agriculture space.