Hurricane Gilbert slams Jamaica

On this day in 1988, Hurricane Gilbert invaded Jamaica and killed hundreds of people. In Mexico the deaths and destruction caused by storms continued, and numerous tornado attacks in Texas provoked.

On 10th September, Gilbert got a hurricane in the west of the Dominican Republic. The measured value of the barometer dropped suddenly on the second day and eventually reached 26.13. This is the lowest value ever recorded. After winning power, Gilbert went straight to Jamaica through Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti.

On September 12, the wind speed reached 175 mph per hour, and the current category 5 hurricane destroyed Jamaica. The hurricane covers the entire island and is 40 miles long. The roof of tin covering most houses is not worth the wind. Approximately 80% of the island's house suffered serious damage and about 500,000 out of 2 million people in the country are losing their homes. Almost all families on the island lost their power. To the worst, more than 200 people were killed.

Two days later, when Gilbert hit the Yucatan peninsula across the Gulf of Mexico, Gilbert remained strong. Cancun in the resort town lost half of the hotel and nearby Cozumel was seriously damaged. Thirty thousand people in this area have lost their homes. As the storm moved to the west side of the peninsula, thousands of people had to escape. In Gilbert, a total of 200,000 Mexicans were homeless.

In the Gulf of Mexico, a 300-foot Cuban cargo ship was thrown into a shrimp ship by the storm and 28 people died. More people were killed when a hurricane attacked the coast of northeastern Mexico near Monterrey. The police evacuated from the area, but detoured along the Santa Cantina River. The river overflowed, four buses and several cars were not prepared, and 200 people were washed away. Finally, a series of tornados at the end of Gilbert killed three people in Texas.

Jamaica is located in the hurricane zone of the Atlantic, and as a result the islands are sometimes victims of heavy rainstorms. Hurricane Charlie and Gilbert attacked Jamaica directly in 1951 and 1988, causing a lot of losses and many deaths. In the 2000s (decade), Hurricane Ivan, Dean and Gustav also brought bad weather on the island. In land, aquatic and marine ecosystems there are dry, wet limestone forests, tropical rain forests, riparian forests, wetlands, caves, rivers, seagrasses, and coral reefs. Authorities recognized the importance and possibilities of the environment and designated some of the more "fertile" areas as "protected." Protected areas of the island include Cockpit Country, Helmsher Hills and Litchfield Forest Reserve. In 1992, Jamaica's first ocean park covering an area of ​​about 15 square kilometers (5.8 square miles) was founded in Montego Bay. The Portland Coast Reserve was designated in 1999

Hurricane Gilbert attacked Jamaica and Hispaniola in the West Indies in September at 115 miles. In Jamaica, at least 26 people were killed by this storm, 500,000 people lost their homes, and the island of electricity was robbed. In response to the Jamaica and Haiti government's appeal, the State Department organized rescue activities coordinated by AIDS and the Overseas Disaster Assistance Agency. Because there is no commercial air transport for humanitarian aid, the State Council calls for military air transport.

Jamaica is not the only country affected by Hurricane Gilbert in the West Indies. Haiti on the west side of Hispaniola suffered from food shortages. In October, the Chicago 928 Tactical Aviation Transportation Group used 22 C-130 aircraft to transport 22 tons of grain to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Air transportation to Jamaica lasted until the beginning of 1989. From the end of January to the beginning of February, the 911 Tactical Air Transport Group C-130 shipped 21 tons of clothing and hospital equipment to Jamaica for the victims of Hurricane Gilbert. On February 7, the 60th MAC C-5 completed rescue activities by transporting 68 tons of cargo (including 4 prefabricated buildings) from California's Travis Air Force base to Kingston.