history 3

SOMETCUBA Bulletin

Volume 6 Number 1

January 2000

Minimum chronology of big nature disasters occurred on Cuba in the XX century

Chronology

Cyclone of the Five Days

category	SS-3
date	October 13^th to 17^th 1910
affected provinces	Pinar del Río / La Habana / Island of Youth
barometric minimum	960 hPa
wind speed	183 km/h (e)
main feature	Flooding
material damages	not exactly quantified
human loss	700 death (e)
synopsis	Flooding, extraordinarily extensive, was consequence of rainfall persisting over 6 days in a row, due to the trail of the hurricane that, after crossing over the west end of Cuba, made a loop to the NW of the province of Pinar del Río. All crops – particularly tobacco- and rural housing were destroyed and cattle was decimated to a high degree. The case of large amount of heads of cattle dragged and drowned in the flooding was repeatedly cited.

Rescue at Havana

Hurricane of 1924

category	SS-5
date	October 18^th to 19^th1924
affected provinces	Pinar del Río / Island of Youth
barometric minimum	916 hPa (not registered over Cuba)
wind speed	250 km/h (e)
main feature	destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind
material damages	not exactly quantified
human loss	90 death (e)
synopsis	This hurricane crossed over the Peninsula of Guanahacabibes at the West End of Pinar del Río, and severely damaged tobacco crops. It affected even the most robust buildings on the zone and destroyed the entire communications infrastructure over the West half of the province. It seriously affected five ships of large size and sunk many smaller vessels, mainly dedicated to fishing.

Tower of the radiotelegraph station at La Fé, twisted and torn down by the strength of the winds

Cyclone of 1926

category	SS-4
date	October 20^th 1926
affected provinces	Island of Youth / La Habana / Pinar del Río / Matanzas
barometric minimum	939 hPa
wind speed	196 km/h
main feature	seven hours over Havana
material damages	destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind and storm surge
human loss	about 100 million pesos (e)
synopsis	600 death (e)
	It seriously affected the West part of the country, particularly the capital city. The strength of the wind demolished crops and noticeably affected the industrial infrastructure of the city. It sank a large amount of fluvial vessels and a great many among those anchored at the harbor. Thousands of houses were destroyed and tens of bodies dragged out to sea.

Palm tree gone through by a wooden beam

Earthquake of Santiago de Cuba

date	February 3^rd 1932
material damages	80% of buildings at Santiago de Cuba were affected; 120 replicas were registered within a year.
human loss	13 death y 200 injured

category	SS-5
date	September 9^th 1932
affected provinces	Camagüey / Ciego de Ávila / Las Tunas
barometric minimum	915 hPa (not registered over Cuba)
wind speed	240 km/h (At Nuevitas, Camagüey)
main feature	storm surge
material damages	not exactly quantified
human loss	3 033 death and thousands injured and affected
synopsis	It constitutes the greatest natural disaster of the XX century in Cuba. It mainly affected buildings on the province of Camagüey, but coastal facilities on the south coast were completely devastated. This hurricane produced a 6 m storm surge at Santa Cruz del Sur and other locations on the south coast of Camagüey. On this village alone it caused over 2500 death.

Town of Santa Cruz del Sur after the pass of the hurricane

Tornado at Bejucal

category	F-4
date	December 26^th
affected provinces	La Habana
barometric minimum	not registered
wind speed	>220 km/h (e)
diameter	400 m
extension of damages	7 km
main feature	destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind
human loss	20 death y 250 injuried
synopsis	This phenomenon caused great havoc on Bejucal, a rural town at the province of Havana. Its unforeseen condition and unusual violence gave it great relevance. Several tens of houses were completely destroyed.

Cyclone of 1944

category	SS-4
date	October 17^th-18^th 1944
affected provinces	Island of Youth / La Habana / Pinar del Río
barometric minimum	not determined (937 hPa at the periphery)
wind speed	198 km/h (sustained) 262 km/h (maximum) at Casa Blanca
persistence of wind speed above 90 km/h	18 hours over Havana
main feature	destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind and storm surge
material damages	40 million pesos (e)
human loss	310 death
synopsis	It produced huge havoc to the agriculture over the province of Havana and the easterly half of Pinar del Río, especially on the forestall wealth of the region. Penetrations of sea on the South coast of Havana (6 m at some locations) were extensive. The shore village "El Cajío" disappeared beneath the waves. At some places the sea reached 12 km inland.

View of the coast village of Cajío after the disaster

Cyclone Flora

category	SS-2
date	October 4^th-8^th1963
affected provinces	Guantánamo / Granma / Santiago de Cuba / Holguín / Las Tunas / Camagüey / Ciego de Ávila
barometric minimum	not registered
wind speed	200 km/h (maximum)
rainfall	2 025 mm (accumulate) 735 mm over 24 h (October 15^th)
main feature	flooding and landslides
material damages	extraordinary to agriculture y las buildings
human loss	1 150 death and tens of thousands affected
synopsis	The catastrophe caused by this hurricane affected the whole easterly region of the country. The trail of the meteor over Cuba, quite slow and irregular, caused intense and prolonged rainfall that made rivers overflow. This turned valleys temporarily into extensive lakes. All crops and cattle vanished.

Sprout of local severe storms on March 1983

date	March 16
affected provinces	West of the country
wind speed	180 km/h
main feature	rainfall, tornadoes lineal gusts, hail, coastal flooding,
material damages	affected housing: 563; evacuated: 4 501
human loss	2 death, 99 injured

Penetrations of sea by the Havana mole

Annex

Comparison between some natural disasters produced by tropical cyclones over Cuba on the latest 15 years