Hurricane Gordon - November 1994 - Killed 1,122 In Haiti

Widespread Convection Persisted In The Southwestern Caribbean Sea During Early November, Which Was Enhanced By The Passage Of Two Tropical Waves Passing Through The Area.

 The second produced a low-level circulation just north of Panama early on November 6. Convection slowly organized as it drifted northwestward, and by 1200 UTC on November 7 the circulation displayed enough curvature to warrant initiating Dvorak technique estimates. Late the next day, convection became more concentrated, and based on surface observations and satellite estimates the National Hurricane Center estimates the system developed into Tropical Depression Twelve midday on November 8 while located a short distance off the southeast coast of Nicaragua.
 
 The depression continued drifting northwestward, and initially limited upper-level outflow led to very slow organization. Its environment became more favorable, and by November 9 the system maintained banding features and increasingly defined outflow. Proximity to land prevented strengthening, and early on November 10 it made landfall near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Shortly thereafter, an upper-level trough turned the depression to the northeast, and the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Gordon after reaching open waters. Tracking slowly north-northeastward, the circulation of the cyclone was initially very broad, covering much of the western Caribbean Sea, and its combination with southwesterly wind shear prevented significant strengthening. By November 12 the center was exposed due to the shear, though by later in the day the circulation became situated along the western edge of the deep convection. Early on November 13, Gordon struck Jamaica near Kingston as a minimal tropical storm, and accelerating northeastward the cyclone made landfall near Guantánamo Bay, Cuba later that day.
 
 Hurricane Gordon was the seventh named tropical storm and third hurricane of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season. An erratic, long-lived system which remained a tropical storm for most of its existence, it followed a winding path through the western Caribbean and into Florida before strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane and threatening North Carolina. Gordon was a catastrophic storm in Haiti, killing an estimated 1,122 people.
 
 Although Gordon was a tropical storm for most of its existence, it caused enormous damage and loss of life. The United Nations estimated death toll in Haiti was 1,122. Six deaths were reported in Costa Rica, five in the Dominican Republic, two in Jamaica, two in Cuba, and eight in Florida. Property damage to the United States was estimated at $400 million (1994 dollars). Property damage statistics for the other affected areas are not available, but were reportedly severe in both Haiti and Cuba.
 
 Haiti suffers large death tolls from many hurricanes, and was particularly devastated by Hurricane Gordon. Hurricane Gordon killed 1,122 in the impoverished nation in 1994 although estimates range as high as 2,200. It has been argued that the damage caused by Hurricane Gordon, among other storms, are in part human-caused disasters. Massive deforestation has left Haiti with about 1.4% of its forests as of 2004, leaving denuded mountain slopes that rainwater washes down unimpeded. The lack of tree cover contributed to the devastating floods that caused a majority of the deaths resulting from Hurricane Gordon.

Comments about this topic (0)
· No comments yet, be the first to comment

Related HaitianTips.Com Resources: