The most powerful hurricanes over the Atlantic since 1980 of the year

Photo: Twitter HurricaneTracker App

Hurricane Irma is raging on the territory of the Karbi Basin, which has reached the fifth power category.

The hurricane destroyed more than 90% of buildings on the island of St. Maarten and on the island of Barbuda. According to the premier of the state of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Brown, the damage amounted to $ 150 million, or 10% of the country's annual GDP. According to UN estimates, up to 37 million people in the Caribbean may suffer from the effects of the hurricane.

According to the US National Hurricane Center, the maximum wind speed during the passage of a hurricane is more than 295 km/h (with gusts up to 380 km/h). Irma is currently moving towards the Atlantic coast of the United States.

The editorial staff of TASS has compiled a list of the most powerful hurricanes over the North Atlantic since 1980.

The occurrence and classification of hurricanes

The Atlantic hurricane season typically runs from June 1 to November 30. At this time, the most powerful cyclones form over the ocean surface - air masses in the form of a huge atmospheric vortex rotating counterclockwise with low pressure in the center. They are accompanied by thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and strong winds. Low intensity cyclones are called tropical depressions. When the wind speed exceeds 63 km/h, a cyclone becomes a tropical storm, and 118 km/h becomes a hurricane.

Since the beginning of 1950, the World Meteorological Organization has assigned proper names to tropical storms and hurricanes. By tradition, hurricanes are called by English, Spanish and French names. Before 1979, they were only female, then it was decided to alternate them with men. Names are repeated every six years, with the exception of those assigned to the most destructive and deadly hurricanes.

Potential damage from hurricanes is measured on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It includes five categories: the first indicates minimal damage, and the fifth - catastrophic.

Statistics

Watching hurricanes over the North Atlantic has been going on since 1851. On average, 18-19 storms and hurricanes occur during the season, but in some years their number exceeded 20.

The first hurricane of the fifth power category (wind speed exceeds 252 km / h) was recorded in 1924 year. According to scientists, probably, before, such strong hurricanes passed over the surface of the ocean, bypassing the islands and coasts, therefore no data on them was recorded.

Category 1924 hurricanes are rare. Since 35, only 4 hurricanes (including Irma) have reached this level of strength, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This represents about XNUMX% of all Atlantic hurricanes. Most of them were recorded between August and September (the peak season of this natural phenomenon).

The most powerful hurricanes of the fifth category since 1980 of the year

Hurricane Allen, which passed over the Atlantic, is considered the most powerful in the history of observations. July 31 - August 11, 1980. The maximum wind speed reached 305 km/h. The disaster affected the Caribbean islands, northern and eastern Mexico and the southern part of Texas. Allen killed 269 people, and property damage amounted to $1,3 billion.

12-19 September 1988 years Hurricane Gilbert swept over the Caribbean Sea and hit the coast of Mexico (maximum wind speed - 295 km/h). It killed more than 300 people, mostly in Mexico, and destroyed buildings and almost all crops in the affected areas. According to rough estimates, the total economic damage exceeded $7 billion.

23-28 August 1992 years Hurricane Andrew (maximum speed - 280 km/h) passed over the Bahamas and over the states of Florida and Louisiana. In the Bahamas, four people became victims of Andrew, and economic damage amounted to $250 million. However, the greatest losses from the disaster were suffered by the southern part of the United States, where more than 60 people died, and recovery cost $26 billion.

October 26 - November 9 1998 of the year Hurricane Mitch raged over Central America, passing over Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the American state of Florida. The maximum sustained wind force was 285 km/h (with gusts up to 320 km/h). The number of victims has not been precisely established. According to approximate data, their number exceeds 20 thousand people (11 thousand dead and about the same number missing). In terms of the number of victims and the scale of destruction, Mitch is second only to the Great Hurricane San Calixto II, which struck the Caribbean in 1780, killing more than 27 thousand people. As a result of Hurricane Mitch, 2,7 million people were left homeless (most of them residents of Honduras and Nicaragua), and economic damage amounted to more than $6 billion.

6 September 2003 years Storm Isabel formed over the Atlantic, which then grew into a hurricane and reached the fifth power category (maximum wind speed - 270 km/h). It struck the Caribbean islands and reached the southern United States. The hurricane killed 17 people, and more than 30 people died as a result of the flooding it caused. It took $3,6 billion to restore the destroyed areas.

2-24 September 2004 years Hurricane Ivan (maximum speed 270 km/h) raged over the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of the United States. During its passage, it caused the largest number of tornadoes than any other hurricane on record - more than 100. The hardest hit countries were Grenada, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and the US states of Florida and Alabama. The total number of deaths was more than 90 people, and material damage amounted to $23 billion.

25-29 August 2005 years Hurricane Katrina, one of the most destructive in the United States (maximum wind speed of 280 km/h), hit the Gulf of Mexico and the southern coast of the United States. The states of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were affected by the disaster. The greatest damage was caused to New Orleans; about 80% of the city's area was under water. As a result of the natural disaster, 1 thousand 836 people died. Material damage from the hurricane exceeded $108 billion.

18-26 September 2005 years Hurricane Rita passed over the Gulf of Mexico and the United States (maximum sustained speed of 285 km/h). The main blow fell on the border between the states of Texas and Louisiana, the cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur were heavily damaged. About 100 thousand residents were evacuated. According to various sources, the number of victims of the hurricane ranges from 100 to 120 people. Economic damage amounted to $12 billion.

18-27 October 2005 years Hurricane Wilma (maximum wind speed of 295 km/h) raged over the islands of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula and the southern part of the United States. Cuba, Mexico and the state of Florida suffered the greatest destruction. In total, "Wilma" claimed the lives of almost 90 people. Economic damage from the disaster exceeded $20 billion.

13-27 August 2007 years Hurricane Dean (maximum speed 280 km/h) swept over the islands of the Caribbean Sea, Central America, Mexico and the USA. About 40 people became victims, and material losses amounted to $1,6 billion.

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