Hurricane Maria was the sixth fastest intensifying hurricane on record. The National Hurricane Center, in it’s final assessment, report that winds that slammed into the islands mountains were likely more intense and lethal than previously reported.
The April 6,2018 report put the official damage tally at $90 billion. That places Maria as the third costliest storm on record and the islands most destructive. Only Katrina and Harvey had higher damage totals.
The Miami Herald reports:
Less than two months before the start of a new hurricane season, much of Puerto Rico remains in ruins. At least 70,000 homes were destroyed, blue tarps still covering countless roofs. Eighty percent of the island’s utility poles were knocked down and, as of March, about 150,000 homes were still without power. Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it was sending more personnel and equipment to help rebuild the grid after FEMA sent another $140 million to extend a $510 million contract.
The official death count still stands at 65. After review it is expected that hundreds more will be added to the total.
In addition to wind, Maria generated dangerous storm surge and huge amounts of rain as it barreled through the Caribbean. Storm surge reached between nine and 9.5 feet along the coast and four to seven feet farther inland near Yabucoa, Maunabo and Patillas. In the Virgin Islands, storm surge reached one to three feet. As it moved north, Maria also sent a storm surge far to the west, pushing water one to three feet above ground along the North Carolina coast.
Rainfall was widespread, triggering brutal mudslides. Dominica, a lush island that the report notes was “reduced to an immense field of debris,” was pounded with 22.8 inches. One location in Puerto Rico recorded 38 inches.
The rain and surge also helped fuel unprecedented flooding, especially in the northern parts of Puerto Rico, the report said. The entire valley around the island’s longest river, La Plata, flooded, stranding hundreds of families on rooftops
From the NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT:
Hurricane Maria crosses from the western tip of St. Croix, USVI to the southeast corner of Puerto Rico.
Maria caused 31 direct deaths in Dominica with 34 missing. In Guadeloupe, two direct fatalities are attributed to Maria: one person died from a falling tree, and another was swept out to sea. In Puerto Rico, the death toll is highly uncertain and the official number stands at 65, which includes an unknown number of indirect deaths. It should be noted that hundreds of additional indirect deaths in Puerto Rico may eventually be attributed to Maria’s aftermath pending the results of an official government review. One person died from drowning, and another was killed by a mud slide in St. Thomas. Four persons were swept away by floodwaters, and another individual perished in a mud slide in the Dominican Republic. Three persons died due to floodwaters in Haiti.
In the mainland United States, three persons drowned due to rip currents at the Jersey Shore, and there was a fourth drowning death at Fernandina Beach, Florida. Maria caused catastrophic damage in Dominica, with the majority of structures seriously damaged or destroyed, and most trees and vegetation were downed and/or defoliated. According to media reports, the estimated damage total in Dominica is at least $1.31 billion. The agricultural sector was essentially eliminated. The once-lush tropical island was effectively reduced to an immense field of debris. In a Facebook post just after the hurricane hit, Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, described the damage as “mind-boggling”. The roofs of the majority of buildings and homes were either damaged or blown off. There was extensive damage to roads. Power, phone, and internet service was cut off, leaving the country almost incommunicado with the outside world. Figure 9 shows some examples of the damage in Dominica.
In Guadeloupe, to the north of Dominica, hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rain caused a great deal of damage, especially along the southern portions of Basse-Terre Island. An estimated 80,000 homes were without electricity, and almost the entire banana crop was destroyed. An estimated $120 million in damage was reported for Guadeloupe.
To the south of Dominica, the island of Martinique had mostly minor damage. Among all the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix was the most severely affected by Maria, having experienced the northern portion of the outer eyewall. Wind damage was evident across the entire island with many fallen trees, downed signs, roof damage and complete destruction of many wooden houses. Excessive rainfall generated significant flooding and mud slides across the island. In St. Thomas and St. John, most of the roofs, signs and trees had already been destroyed or damaged earlier by Hurricane Irma, but large rainfall accumulations generated flooding and mud slides across all these islands.
Puerto Rico was devastated by winds and floods. The NOAA estimate of damage in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands due to Maria is 90 billion dollars, with a 90% confidence range of +/-$25.0 billion, or $65.0-$115.0 billion, which makes Maria the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history, behind Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017). Maria is by far the most destructive hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in modern times, as the previous costliest hurricane on record for the island was Georges in 1998, which in 2017 dollars “only” caused about 5 billion dollars of damage. The combined destructive power of storm surge and wave action from Maria produced extensive damage to buildings, homes and roads along the east and southeast coast of Puerto Rico as well as the south coasts of Vieques and St. Croix. Along these areas, marinas and harbors were severely damaged due to the combination of the waves and currents associated with the surge. A storm surge also caused significant damage over the northwestern coastal area of Puerto Rico. Across the island, many buildings suffered significant damage or were destroyed. Numerous trees were downed, splintered and/or defoliated.
River flooding was unprecedented in some areas, especially in the northern portion of the island. The La Plata River flooded the entire alluvial valley including the municipality of Toa Baja, where hundreds of families needed to be rescued from their roof tops. Maria knocked down 80 percent of Puerto Rico’s utility poles and all transmission lines, resulting in the loss of power to essentially all of the island’s 3.4 million residents. Practically all cell phone service was lost and municipal water supplies were knocked out. At of the end of 2017, nearly half of Puerto Rico’s residents were still without power, and by the end of January 2018, electricity had been restored to about 65% of the island. Just before
Hurricane Maria 8
Maria’s center made landfall, extreme winds destroyed the WSR-88D radar in Puerto Rico (Figure 10). Other examples of damage in Puerto Rico and St. Croix are shown in Figure 11. On the island of Vieques, all wooden structures were either damaged or destroyed. The island of Culebra had recently experienced major damage due to Hurricane Irma, rendering the remaining structures on the island extremely vulnerable to Maria’s winds. There was total destruction of many wooden houses, along with blown off roofs and sunken boats. Hundreds of homes were either damaged or destroyed in the northern part of the Dominican Republic, and about 60,000 people lost power in that country. Many communities were cut off as a result of flooding and/or mud slides. There was no significant damage in North Carolina.