_areas_affected.png) Areas affected by the hurricane (excludingBermuda) | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 9, 1780 (1780-10-09) |
| Dissipated | October 20, 1780 (1780-10-21) |
| Unknown-strength storm | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest gusts | 200 mph (325 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | est. 22,000 (DeadliestAtlantic hurricane on record) |
| Areas affected | Lesser Antilles,Puerto Rico,Hispaniola,Bermuda, possiblyEast Florida and someU.S. states |
| [1] | |
Part of the1780 Atlantic hurricane season | |
TheGreat Hurricane of 1780[2][1][3] was the deadliesttropical cyclone in theWestern Hemisphere. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout theLesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16.[4] Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown, as the officialAtlantic hurricane database only goes back to 1851.[5]
The hurricane struckBarbados likely as aCategory 5 hurricane, with one estimate of wind gusts as high as 200 mph (320 km/h),[6] before moving pastMartinique,Saint Lucia, andSint Eustatius, and causing thousands of deaths on those islands. Coming in the midst of theAmerican Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to the British fleetcontesting for control of the area, significantly weakening British control over the Atlantic. The hurricane later passed nearPuerto Rico and over the eastern portion ofHispaniola, causing heavy damage near the coastlines. It ultimately turned to the northeast and was last observed on October 20 southeast ofAtlantic Canada.
The death toll from the Great Hurricane alone exceeds that of many entire decades of Atlantic hurricanes. Estimates are significantly higher than for the 1998Hurricane Mitch, the second-deadliest Atlantic storm, for which figures are likely more precise. The hurricane was part of the disastrous1780 Atlantic hurricane season, with two other deadly storms occurring in October.[4]
This hurricane was first encountered by a boat in the eastern Caribbean Sea, but it may have developed in early October in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off theCape Verde Islands. The system ultimately strengthened and expanded as it tracked slowly westward; affectingBarbados late on October 9. On October 10, the worst of the hurricane passed over the island,[6] with at least one estimate of gusts as high as 200 mph (320 km/h) duringlandfall. Early on October 11, the hurricane turned north-northwest about 90 kilometers (56 mi) east ofSaint Lucia, and later that night it neared the island ofMartinique. The cyclone gradually weakened as it passed to the southwest ofDominica early on October 12 and subsequently struck the island ofGuadeloupe.[3]
After hitting Guadeloupe, the hurricane turned west-northwest, passing about 145 km (90 mi) southwest ofSaint Kitts. The hurricane steadily nearedPuerto Rico as it paralleled the southern coastline, and on October 14 made made landfall, to the southwestern-most tip of the island. It subsequently turned to the northwest, going through theMona Passage before making approaching near the present-dayDominican Republic province ofSamaná.[7] Late on October 15, it reached the Atlantic Ocean and after passing about 260 km (160 mi) east ofGrand Turk Island; it is estimated to have recurved to the northeast. The hurricane passed 240 km (150 mi) southeast ofBermuda on October 18,[3] and was last observed two days later about 475 km (295 mi) southeast ofCape Race, Newfoundland, Canada.[8]
On October 19, strong winds and high tides were reported in the British province ofEast Florida (the northeastern portion of present-dayFlorida).NOAA employees, Christopher W. Landsea and Al Sandrik write that it is possible the hurricane passed much closer to the province than previously thought. Another possibility considered was an extension to a hurricane in the western Caribbean Sea. Because of lack of data, the exact track of the Great Hurricane is unknown.[9]
Estimates of the death toll from the hurricane range from 22,000 to about 28,500, making it the deadliest hurricane in the recorded history of the Atlantic hurricane basin.[3][4]
About 4,500 people died on Barbados.[10] The hurricane began affecting the island with rain late on October 9. The ships in the bay broke their moorings by 4:00 the afternoon of October 10, and the full impact arrived around 6:00 in the evening. The hurricane produced violent winds "so deafening that people could not hear their own voices."[3]
... a dreadful hurricane which began to rage with great fury at noon [the 10th] and continue with great violence till four o'clock the next morning, the 11th; At eight o'clock at nightSt. Thomas's parsonage was demolished and the church where the Rector and his family sought shelter began to fall about two hours after, the Chancel fell while the family were in the church ... St. Thomas's Chapel, St. Michael's, St. George's, Christ Church's and St. Lucy's churches were totally destroyed, the other churches were severely 'injured' (except St. Peter's and St. Philip's). Because of the demolition of the parish church and chapel[,] 'divine services' continued in the 'boiling house' at the 'Rock Hall' estate of Thomas Harper by Rev Wm Duke and curate Hugh Austin of St Thomas. Most other buildings and works were blown down and many lives were lost. The dead could not be brought to a church so were buried in gardens and private land.[11]
The hurricane stripped the bark off trees and left none standing on Barbados.[3] Cuban meteorologistJosé Carlos Millás has estimated that this damage could be caused only by winds exceeding 200 miles per hour (320 km/h).[10] Every house and fort on Barbados was destroyed. According to British AdmiralGeorge Brydges Rodney, the winds carried their heavy cannons aloft 100 feet (30 m).[3]
The wind directions recorded during the hurricane suggest that the eye missed Barbados to the north. Northwesterly winds increased through the day on October 10. The wind gradually backed to westerly through the night of October 10 and peaked at midnight. Wind speed returned to normal by 8:00 the morning of October 11.[3]
Strong winds affectedAntigua andSaint Kitts, with many ships in Saint Kitts washed ashore. AtGrenada, nineteen Dutch ships were wrecked.[3]
The hurricane later grounded 50 ships nearBermuda.[3]
| Deadliest Atlantic hurricanes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Hurricane | Season | Fatalities |
| 1 | ? "Great Hurricane" | 1780 | 22,000–27,501 |
| 2 | 5 Mitch | 1998 | 11,374+ |
| 3 | 2 Fifi | 1974 | 8,210–10,000 |
| 4 | 4 "Galveston" | 1900 | 8,000–12,000 |
| 5 | 4 Flora | 1963 | 7,193 |
| 6 | ? "Pointe-à-Pitre" | 1776 | 6,000+ |
| 7 | 5 "Okeechobee" | 1928 | 4,112+ |
| 8 | ? "Newfoundland" | 1775 | 4,000–4,163 |
| 9 | 3 "Monterrey" | 1909 | 4,000 |
| 10 | 4 "San Ciriaco" | 1899 | 3,855 |
The hurricane produced a 25-foot (7.6 m) storm surge onMartinique, destroying all houses inSaint-Pierre and causing 9,000 deaths. A storm surge also struck the south coast ofGuadeloupe and caused considerable damage.[3]
InSaint Vincent, the hurricane destroyed 584 of the 600 houses inKingstown.[3]
OnSaint Lucia, rough waves and a strongstorm tide struck the fleet of Admiral Rodney atPort Castries, with one ship destroying the city's hospital after being lifted on top of it. The hurricane destroyed all but two houses inPort Castries, and about 6,000 perished on the island.[3]
High winds, heavy rains, and storm surge caused severe damage atRoseau inDominica.[3]
The attorney general of Guadeloupe writes:
The gale of wind which happened on the 12th Oct. was the most severe perhaps ever known. Barbadoes suffered amazingly, 6500 souls perished. Tobago laid waste, Grenades, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, suffered more than any person can conceive. St. Kitts and Eustatia, did not escape without damage: this island did but just feel it.
A Dutch sea-officer was on a ship that was blown fromSint Eustatius to Martinique. When he returned to Sint Eustatius, he reported on the damage inSaint-Pierre, Martinique,Saint Vincent, and St. Lucia. He writes in his letter:
A short while ago it pleased the Lord Almighty to show us his power. Here we had from 12 to 22 October of this year a very fierce wind & a heavy see that ruined a lot of houses and warehouses, yes even many ships were wrecked and many people were killed. The wall has been completely washed away by the sea and the back of the house has been left only on single struts, yes it was so heavy that the sea flew over our house but we may thank the Lord for his mercy that we have come off so well.
He did not mention a dramatic death toll on the island. He also said that the situation there was not as bad as on the French and English islands.[12]
Heavy damage was reported in southernPuerto Rico, primarily inCabo Rojo andLajas. Severe damage also occurred in the eastern region of theCaptaincy General of Santo Domingo.[3]
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Among the ships lost from Rodney's fleet were the frigatesHMSBlanche, which disappeared without a trace, andHMSAndromeda andHMSLaurel, which were wrecked onMartinique with heavy loss of life. By far the worst losses in the Royal Navy, however, were those ships under the command of Vice-AdmiralPeter Parker and Rear-AdmiralJoshua Rowley. At the time of the hurricane, Rowley was off the coast of New York with a portion of the fleet, includingHMSSandwich, while Parker was inPort Royal, Jamaica. Many of their ships, however, were in the hurricane's path. The ships of the lineHMSThunderer andHMSStirling Castle, frigateHMSPhoenix, post shipHMSDeal Castle and sloop-of-warHMSEndeavour were lost, and seven other warships were dismasted.[13][14]: 58
A fleet of 40 French ships was struck off Martinique during the hurricane. Several hundred military personnel and about 9,000 civilians died; however, theFrench Navy's only loss was the frigateJunon.[14]: 114
The storm was named theSan Calixto hurricane in Puerto Rico because the eye of the cyclone made landfall there on October 14, the Christianfeast day ofPope Callixtus I, venerated by theRoman Catholic Church as Saint Callixtus ("San Calixto" in Spanish).[1] Since European arrival in the Americas in 1492, all storms and hurricanes had been named after the name of the saint of the feast day on which the storm hit Puerto Rico; for example, the1867 San Narciso hurricane, the1899 San Ciriaco hurricane, the1928 San Felipe hurricane, and the1932 San Ciprian hurricane.[15]
It was not until 1953 that theUnited States Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) startednaming hurricanes by human names, a practice relinquished in 1979 to theWorld Meteorological Organization, though it was only in 1960 that hurricanes stopped being officially named after saints in Puerto Rico.[1]
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