Portal:Disasters/Selected article/September 2007
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The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as the Hurricane San Calixto II, is the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. Over 22,000 people died when the storm passed through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean between October 10 and October 16. Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown since the official Atlantic hurricane database wasn't established until 1851.
The hurricane struck Barbados with winds possibly exceeding 200 mph (320 km/h), before moving past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius; thousands of deaths were reported on each island. Coming in the midst of the American Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to British and French fleets contesting for control of the area. The hurricane later passed near Puerto Rico and over the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic, which at the time was known as Santo Domingo. There, it caused heavy damage near the coastlines; it ultimately turned to the northeast before being last observed on October 20 southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
The death toll from the Great Hurricane alone exceeds that for any other entire decade of Atlantic hurricanes, and is substantially higher than that of the second-deadliest Atlantic storm, Hurricane Mitch. The hurricane was part of the disastrous 1780 Atlantic hurricane season, with three other deadly storms occurring in the month of October.
