Does anyone know how many people have evacuated for Ivan?
Known at the time as the "storm of the century," Hurricane Gilbert pursued a path similar to Mitch, but with one major difference: unlike Mitch, Gilbert actually intensified as it made its way toward landfall.
Gilbert first struck land on Sept. 12, 1988, when it hammered the island of Jamaica, unleashing torrential rains and 115 mph winds. The hurricane ripped the roofs off of buildings, including a local hospital, pounded the beachfront resorts of Ocho Rios with 20-foot waves, and knocked out power, cutting off the island's 2.3 million residents from the outside world.
The captain of this ship said his massive anchors held until Gilbert's winds reached 125 mph.
The brunt of the storm hit the capital of Kingston, where wind gusts up to 140 mph were recorded, seriously damaging the Kingston airport and tossing airplanes across the tarmac. All tolled, 26 people were killed and 500,000 were left homeless on the island nation.
Jamaica hadn't taken a direct hit so devastating since 1951, when a tropical storm killed 150 people. The Jamaican Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, called Gilbert "the worst natural disaster Jamaica has experienced in its modern history."
http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/981030Gilbert/
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