Welcome to the
Disaster Center's 1999 Hurricane page
For the north Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico...
The 1999 hurricane season had above-normal activity with twelve named
tropical cyclones...
Of which four were tropical storms and eight were hurricanes.
This compares to the long-term averages of 10 named tropical cyclones 6
hurricanes and 4 tropical storms.
Five of the eight hurricanes were major...category three or higher on
the Saffir/Simpson scale...with wind speeds of 111 mph or more. All
five of these reached category 4 status...with winds of at least 131
mph. This is the highest number of category 4 hurricanes in a single
season since records began in 1886. The total activity over the past
five years...1995-1999...
Of 41 hurricanes and 20 major hurricanes is also unprecedented.
Hurricanes Bret...Floyd...and Irene made landfalls on the U.S. mainland
as category 3...2...and 1 hurricanes...respectively.
In addition...Harvey made landfall in the United States as a tropical
storm. Dennis produced near-hurricane conditions on the U.S. mainland.
There was one additional U.S. hurricane landfall in the Virgin
Islands...Lenny. The inland flooding from Floyd was a disaster of
immense proportions in the eastern United States...particularly in
north Carolina.
The 56 U.S. direct deaths due to Floyd is the largest hurricane death
total since Agnes killed 122 persons in 1972.
The Bahamas experienced tropical storm conditions from Dennis and
hurricane conditions from Floyd. Gert briefly produced hurricane winds
at Bermuda and also affected Newfoundland.
Cuba experienced tropical storm conditions from Irene. Tropical Storm
Katrina made landfall in Nicaragua. Lenny produced up to category 2
hurricane conditions over portions of the leeward islands of the
Caribbean.
Honduras This
Week
Caribbean
Regional Disaster Information Center
América Latina
y el Caribe -- El Centro Regional de Información sobre
Desastres
Caribbean
Red Cross
The
Caribbean Hurricane Page -- Caribbean Reports
Hurricane
Georges approaching Gulf Coast - MPEG movie in color (September 28)-
4.7mb
Hurricane
Georges crossing the Florida Keys - MPEG movie (September 25)- 1.6mb
The
Disaster Center Hurricane Reports
Hurricane
Bonnie Satellite images
Tropical
Storm Earl Satellite images
Hurricane
Bulletin Board: For the latest Advisories -- Emergency related news and
notices
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The ER-2 Doppler radar provides a dramatic
cross-section view of Hurricane
Georges' eye over Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic received heavy
rain
during this pass, as seen in the radar image at top, and subsequent
rain
eventually caused significant loss of life. The rain was enhanced
significantly
by the mountains
Cross Section
in the interior of the island. The
mountains
are about 2.7 km high (9000 ft) and produced what appears to be a huge
thunderstorm over the mountains as shown in the blue - upward rising -
moisture in the lower image. Significant research will be done to
understand
this very complicated interaction between Hurricane Georges and the
mountains.
Credit: NASA.
The most destructive part of a
hurricane is usually
the storm surge. The surge effect is due to the winds of the hurricane
pushing up a "dome" of water in front of the hurricane. As this surge
of
water hits the coastal area tides may be several tens of feet higher
than
normal. This wall of water works it's way up rivers to cause damage far
inland. The rise in water level happens at the same time as the heavy
rains
associated with hurricanes. The fall of ten inches or more of rain
during
the hurricane is not unusual. The tidal surge and the rainfall combine
to cause
flooding. The
damage caused by the flooding of property is the largest cost to
property
owners due to hurricanes. Wind damages bring about the second highest
cost,
due to the physical power of the hurricane. The costs due to the
hurricane
just start with the physical damage caused by the hurricane. The
general
disturbance of every day life activities in any area impacted by
disaster
bring about costs due to business operations being disrupted. The
ability
of people to work may be limited due to the shortages of the essential
requirements for life, for the need to find replacement housing, for
the
care of family members injured
or traumatized
by
the disaster, and for the shortage of materials essential for work.
There
is some delay between the disaster and the availability of funding to
begin
repairs. Many business within a disaster area do not reopen, because
insurance
may be lacking to pay for the needed repairs, and even if
insurance or loans are available, they may not be enough to
cover the
required repairs. Damage to essential data stored in computer systems
may
make restarting an existing business difficult. And any disruption in a
business will cause an existing business' clients to seek other
suppliers,
so that when the business reopens it may find itself with out it's
previous
patrons. Hurricanes
are one disaster in which it is possible to have several days warning
prior
to the hurricanes arrival. As the arrival of the hurricane can be to
some
extent predicted, it is important to begin preparations
for the hurricane as soon as we have information that it may land in a
location near us. Because we can not know exactly where the hurricane
will
hit, it is important to listen to the local weather
authorities. Local weather authorities will issue warnings and announce
evacuations. Given a large scale disaster your family may be cut off
from
any assistance for three days. Every family should have on hand a
supply
of food, water, personal and medical supplies to last at least 3 days.
In any disaster situation it is possible that utilities will not be
functioning.
For this reason, you should keep on hand a supply of cash and a full
tank
of fuel in any vehicle. If we live in an area that has a history
hurricanes,
we can and should begin our preparations
for
hurricanes long before we receive any notification. Consult local
building
authorities about any improvements that may be made to your house
to
lesson the likelihood of damage to the structure. The biggest factor in
determining the likelihood of your properties ability to withstand
damage
due to winds is the date of its construction. In recent years building
codes have been upgraded. As a general rule, the older the property the
more likely it is to sustain damage in a disaster. Walk around the
outside
of your property. Inspect the trees and landscaping for objects likely
to fall or to be blown away by the winds associated with a hurricane.
Consider
purchasing storm shutters or pre-purchasing the supplies needed to
protect
windows from storm damage. Since water
damage is
the biggest cause of property damage in a disaster you should examine
the
possibly of purchasing flood insurance. Just because you are outside of
the recognized
flood zones does
not mean your home will not be flooded. The cost of reparing
damage due to flooding is not normally covered by most home
owners policies, but is the biggest single cause of property
damage.
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North
Carolina's Hurricane History Our
Price: $15.16 - Barnes Jay, Jay Barnes; Paperback
1938
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After
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Atlantic
Hurricane Names for 1999
Hurricane Arlene Hurricane Bret Hurricane Cindy Hurricane Dennis
Hurricane Emily Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Gert Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Irene Hurricane Jose Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Lenny
Hurricane Maria Hurricane Nate Hurricane Ophelia Hurricane Philippe
Hurricane Rita Hurricane Stan Hurricane Tammy Hurricane Vince Hurricane
Wilma
