Catastrophic Hurricanes: NLJ Remembers Hurricane Gilbert

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season has been a very active one, with hurricanes causing tremendous damage to some Caribbean islands. Jamaica has been spared so far, but there was a time that our little island was right in the path of one of the most dangerous hurricanes and even now, 32 years later, the name of this still causes people who had experienced its destruction to shake their heads when remembering Hurricane Gilbert.
Music: 'Wild Gilbert by Lloyd Lovindeer
Video Transcription:
We are well into the Atlantic Hurricane Season which meteorologist believe, has the potential to be one of the busiest on record.
With that in mind, let’s take a flashback of Hurricane Gilbert.
There were hurricane winds which lasted approximately 10 to 12 hours with the eye passing directly over the country. This hurricane claimed the lives of 45 persons while hundreds were left homeless and thousands were forced to seek refuge in emergency shelters which soon became overcrowded. To make matters worse, many designated shelters were destroyed by the hurricanes.
 September 12, 1988 is a date that still brings a feeling of fear to those who would have lived through Hurricane Gilbert. It is still the marker for comparisons to other hurricanes that would hit Jamaica afterwards as it was one of the most catastrophic experiences in Jamaica’s history.
This year marks the 32nd anniversary of Hurricane Gilbert. Many lost their lives, while others were left homeless, damages to the economy were in the range of billions of dollars and agriculture was exceedingly jolted. 
Now, did you know that Gilbert was the first hurricane in 37 years to hit Jamaica directly?
Water, electricity, and telephone services took several months to be fully restored across the island, and damages were estimated at $4 billion, with the damage to agriculture accounting for more than 40 per cent of this total. Jamaica’s banana industry lost some 400 million in export earnings.
The hardest hit however, were the nation’s houses, with an estimated one-fifth of the total houses in Jamaica either wrecked or severely damaged. After the hurricane, a State of Public Emergency was declared for St Thomas, St Catherine, and Kingston and St Andrew, which lasted for over one month. 
The name 'Gilbert' was retired from the list of hurricane names