Effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Greater Antilles
| Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Satellite image of Sandy approaching landfall on Jamaica
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| Winds |
1-minute sustained: 115 mph (185 km/h) Gusts: 140 mph (220 km/h) |
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| Fatalities | 70 direct, 50 indirect |
| Damage | $2.88 billion (2012 USD) |
| Areas affected | Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico |
| Part of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season | |
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The effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Greater Antilles were spread over five countries and included at least 120 deaths, primarily on October 24 and 25, 2012. Sandy formed in the central Caribbean Sea south of Jamaica on October 22 as part of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.
After the storm became a tropical cyclone on October 22, the Government of Jamaica issued a tropical storm watch for the entire island. Early on October 23, the watch was replaced with a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch was issued. At 3 p.m. UTC, the hurricane watch was upgraded to a hurricane warning, while the tropical storm warning was discontinued. Shortly after Jamaica issued its first watch on October 22, the Government of Haiti issued a tropical storm watch for Haiti. By late October 23, it was modified to a tropical storm warning. The Government of Cuba posted a hurricane watch for the Cuban Provinces of Camagüey, Granma, Guantánamo, Holguín, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba at 1500 UTC on October 23. Only three hours later, the hurricane watch was switched to a hurricane warning.
Sandy was the first direct hit by the eye of a hurricane on Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert 24 years ago. The storm hit Jamaica as a category 1 hurricane. Extensive damage was reported on the island. Trees and power lines were snapped and shanty houses were heavily damaged, both from the winds and flooding rains. More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays off Jamaica's southern coast. Stones falling from a hillside crushed one man to death as he tried to get into his house in a rural village near Kingston. The country's sole electricity provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company, reported that 70 percent of its customers were without power. Looters shot and wounded a police official as he led a group of officers through Craig Town, a section of West Kingston. More than 1,000 people went to shelters, the Office of Disaster Preparedness said. Jamaican authorities closed the island's international airports, and police ordered 48-hour curfews in major towns to keep people off the streets and deter looting. Cruise ships changed their itineraries to avoid the storm, which made landfall the afternoon of October 24 near the capital, Kingston.
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Wikipedia