CASE STUDY -. LANDSLIDES TRIGGERED BY 1988 HURRICANE GILBERT IN N.W. ST ANDREW.

FLOODING – DISCUSSED, FIG.12.
HURRICANES - DISCUSSED BOX 6:

Hurricane Gilbert struck the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of Mexico in 1988, causing comprehensive damage in Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Arriving in Saint Lucia as a Tropical depression, it resulted in damage estimated at US$2.5 million from the flooding and landslides caused by the heavy rain (Caribbean Disaster News No. 15/16, 1988).
Hurricane Gilbert began as a tropical wave on September 3, 1988, on the north coast of Africa. Six days later, the system was across the Atlantic and had evolved into Gilbert as a tropical storm. It struck Jamaica on September 12 as a category 3 (SSH Scale) hurricane and traveled westward over the entire length of the island. Gaining strength as it moved northwest, it hit the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico, on September 14, as a Category 5 (SSH Scale) hurricane. By September 16 it had weakened and finally dissipated after moving inland over the east coast of Mexico.
The evolution of this hurricane resulted in different types of damage. It was considered a "dry" hurricane when it struck Jamaica, discharging less precipitation than would be expected. Thus, most of the damage was due to wind, which blew away roofs.
By the time it approached Mexico, however, it was accompanied by torrential rains, which caused massive flooding far inland.

Sustained winds in Jamaica were measured at 223 km/hr, and greater across high ridges. The barometric pressure was the lowest ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere at 888mb, 200km east-southeast of Jamaica. The barometric pressure when it hit Jamaica was 960 mb.
The forward speed was 31 km/hr. The eye had a 56 km diameter, but little storm surge occurred in Jamaica. Average rainfall registered from 250 mm to 550 mm. Serious flooding due to storm surge and heavy rains was not a problem. Landslides occurred at high elevations where most of the rainfall was concentrated.

By the time Hurricane Gilbert hit Mexico it had changed characteristics. In the Yucatan the storm surge reached 5 meters in height and rainfall averaged 400 mm. By the time Gilbert struck the northern coast of Mexico, the winds had increased to 290 km/h and the storm surge had reached 6 meters.