Hurricane Jeanne
Hurricane Jeanne was a Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998, and the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2004. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the season, as well as the third hurricane and fourth named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida. After wreaking havoc on Hispaniola, Jeanne struggled to reorganize, eventually strengthening and performing a complete loop over the open Atlantic. It headed westwards, strengthening into a Category 3 hurricane and passing over the islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas on September 25. Jeanne made landfall later in the day in Florida just two miles (three kilometers) from where Hurricane Frances had struck a mere three weeks earlier.
This article is about Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Jeanne.Meteorological history
September 13, 2004
September 28, 2004
September 29, 2004
120 mph (195 km/h)
3,037 direct
$7.94 billion
Building on the rainfall of Frances and Hurricane Ivan, Jeanne brought near-record flood levels as far north as West Virginia and New Jersey before its remnants turned east into the open Atlantic. Jeanne is blamed for at least 3,006 deaths in Haiti with about 2,800 in Gonaïves alone, which was nearly washed away by floods and mudslides. The storm also caused 8 deaths in Puerto Rico, 18 in the Dominican Republic and 5 in the rest of the United States, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 3,037, making Hurricane Jeanne one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. Final property damage in the continental United States was $7.5 billion, plus an additional $270 million in the Dominican Republic and $169.5 million in Puerto Rico.
Preparations[edit]
Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands[edit]
On the afternoon of September 13, tropical storm watches were issued for the British Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten while tropical storm warnings were raised for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The watches were upgraded to tropical storm warnings early on the morning of September 14. Later in the morning, tropical storm warnings were issued for St. Kitts and Nevis, while tropical storm watches were issued for Anguilla. During the afternoon, tropical storm warnings were lowered for Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten, while hurricane warnings were issued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Late on the morning of September 15, a hurricane watch was issued for the British Virgin Islands. That afternoon, tropical storm warnings were dropped for St. Kitts and Nevis, while hurricane warnings were lowered to tropical storm warnings for the U.S. Virgin Islands. On the evening of September 15, tropical storm warnings were dropped Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while hurricane warnings were downgraded to tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico, and all watches and warnings were dropped for the British Virgin Islands.[9] The entire power grid of Puerto Rico was shut down by the government of Sila María Calderón as the storm approached to prevent electrocutions and infrastructure damage.[17]