 Dean south of Puerto Rico on August 18 | |
| Category 5 major hurricane | |
|---|---|
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 165 mph (270 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 923 mbar (hPa); 27.26 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 23 |
| Damage | $310 million (2007 USD) |
| Areas affected | Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands |
Part of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season | |
| History
Impact Other wikis | |
The effects of Hurricane Dean in the Greater Antilles were spread over six countries and included 20 deaths. Hurricane Dean formed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Cape Verde on August 14 as part of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. The Cape Verde-type hurricane tracked steadily westward into the Caribbean, where it rapidly intensified. Its outer bands swept over the Greater Antilles; the storm surge was felt from the eastern side of Puerto Rico to the western tip of Cuba. It brushed the island of Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale before striking Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula at Category 5 strength.
National governments, domestic non-governmental organizations, and international aid agencies established hundreds of shelters, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people, raised millions of dollars of resources, and rallied thousands of rescue workers as the powerful hurricane churned through the Caribbean. Despite a number of near misses, Hurricane Dean did not make landfall in the Greater Antilles and the islands were spared the brunt of the storm.
Six people were killed in the Dominican Republic and another fourteen in Haiti. Three were killed in Jamaica, which also suffered US$310 million of damage—the heaviest in the Caribbean. The most severe damage there was to the agricultural sector; nearly the entire banana crop was destroyed. Global aid organizations contributed to the subsequent recovery effort; immediate life-saving needs were met within days, but the damage to Jamaica's infrastructure and economy took much longer to repair. With loans and grants from the local government, the European Union, and the United Nations, normality was restored by the following summer.