1959 Mexico Hurricane
Encyclopedia
The 1959 Mexico Hurricane was a devastating tropical cyclone
that was one of the worst ever Pacific hurricane
s. It impacted the Pacific coast of Mexico
in October 1959. It killed at least 1,000 people, and perhaps double that, a record that still stands, and caused at least 280 million dollars in damage. The system's worst impact was in the states
of Colima
and Jalisco
due to high winds, and flooding. This hurricane was also a Category 5
on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
and set several records, related to both impact and meteorological statistics.
, it had probably formed a little bit earlier than this date. It took the usual northwesterly track for hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. It steadily intensified, becoming a major hurricane on October 25 and reaching Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale
the next day. This was followed by a turn to the northeast. It continued to intensify, and became a Category 5 on October 27. It smashed ashore close to Manzanillo, Colima
. Weakened quickly by landfall, it dissipated over central Mexico on October 29.
This hurricane's lowest central pressure
is 958 millibars. Its highest windspeed is 140 knots(160 mph, 260 km/h). The official "best track" data set indicates that this velocity was attained after landfall. However, a minor revision corrects this error, making it clear that the hurricane strengthened over water and confirming that the hurricane made landfall with strong winds due to a reading above 135 knots (155 mph, 250 km/h) in Manzanillo. The revision also indicates that the hurricane may have had higher winds than officially recorded.
, it was forecast to head out to sea. Instead, it recurved east and made landfall
.
The hurricane had devastating effects on the places it hit. It killed at least 1,000 people directly, and perhaps as many as 1,500 or 1,800. It was Mexico's worst natural disaster
in recent times. Most of the destruction was in Colima
and Jalisco
. A preliminary estimate of property damage was $280 million (1959 USD).
The storm sank three merchant ships, and two other vessels. On one ship, the Sinaloa, 21 of 38 hands went down. On another, the El Caribe, all hands were lost. As many as 150 total boats were sunk.
A quarter of the homes in Cihuatlán, Jalisco, were totally destroyed, leaving many homeless. In Manzanillo, Colima
, 40 percent of all homes were destroyed, and four ships in the harbour were sunk. Large portions of Colima
and Jalisco
were isolated by flooding. Hundreds of people were stranded. Minatitlán, Colima
, suffered especially, as 800 people out of its population of 1000 were dead or missing, according to a message sent to President
Adolfo López Mateos
. In Colima, all coconut
plantations were blown down and thousands of people were left out of work. That state's economy was damaged enough that officials thought it would take years to recover.
The hurricane also dumped heavy rains along its path. This water-logged the hills near Minatitlán, and contributed to huge mudslide late on October 29 that claimed 800 victims. The slide uncovered hundreds of venomous scorpion
s and snake
s, which killed tens more people in the aftermath. Additional hordes of scorpions were driven from their nests when the adobe walls crumbled away. The Governor of Colima
, Rodolfo Chávez Carrillo with the support of his wife, Lucia Pardo de Chavez, issued a plea for venom inoculations afterwards. In some places, the mud was 10 feet (3 m) deep. Water supplies were badly polluted, both by debris and dead bodies.
In the aftermath, air rescue operations were conducted, but the destruction of roads in the area hindered convoys carrying aid. Planes also made supply drops, but rescue operations were hindered by broken roads and rails. Survivors were vaccinated against typhoid and tetanus
. Part of Manzanillo was placed under quarantine
.
, Anita
, Gilbert
, and Dean
. Also, it is the only known Pacific hurricane to make landfall as a Category 5. Reaching Category 5 intensity on October 27, it holds the record for the latest date any Pacific hurricane has done that in a season. Similarly, it is the first known Pacific hurricane to reach Category 5 intensity in the eastern Pacific proper (between 140°W and North America); the only earlier system, Hurricane Patsy
, was located in the Central Pacific (140°W to the dateline), although records before 1949 remain incomplete.
The cyclone was the deadliest east Pacific hurricane. Its death totals are higher than any other known Pacific hurricane, including Hurricanes Paul and Liza
, the only other known systems to come close to, or exceed, 1000 deaths. It was also one of the most intense landfalling Pacific Hurricanes.
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
that was one of the worst ever Pacific hurricane
Pacific hurricane
A Pacific hurricane or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that develops in the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern, , central , and western...
s. It impacted the Pacific coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in October 1959. It killed at least 1,000 people, and perhaps double that, a record that still stands, and caused at least 280 million dollars in damage. The system's worst impact was in the states
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
due to high winds, and flooding. This hurricane was also a Category 5
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
and set several records, related to both impact and meteorological statistics.
Meteorological history
The fifteenth known tropical cyclone of the 1959 season and twelfth storm in the Eastern North Pacific was first noticed on October 23, south of Mexico. As it was already a Category 1 hurricaneSaffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
, it had probably formed a little bit earlier than this date. It took the usual northwesterly track for hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. It steadily intensified, becoming a major hurricane on October 25 and reaching Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
the next day. This was followed by a turn to the northeast. It continued to intensify, and became a Category 5 on October 27. It smashed ashore close to Manzanillo, Colima
Manzanillo, Colima
The name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
. Weakened quickly by landfall, it dissipated over central Mexico on October 29.
This hurricane's lowest central pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
is 958 millibars. Its highest windspeed is 140 knots(160 mph, 260 km/h). The official "best track" data set indicates that this velocity was attained after landfall. However, a minor revision corrects this error, making it clear that the hurricane strengthened over water and confirming that the hurricane made landfall with strong winds due to a reading above 135 knots (155 mph, 250 km/h) in Manzanillo. The revision also indicates that the hurricane may have had higher winds than officially recorded.
Impact
Thousands of people were unprepared for the storm. Thus, the system was dubbed "a sneak hurricane". After passing well offshore from AcapulcoAcapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, it was forecast to head out to sea. Instead, it recurved east and made landfall
Landfall (meteorology)
Landfall is the event of a tropical cyclone or a waterspout coming onto land after being over water. When a waterspout makes landfall it is reclassified as a tornado, which can then cause damage inland...
.
The hurricane had devastating effects on the places it hit. It killed at least 1,000 people directly, and perhaps as many as 1,500 or 1,800. It was Mexico's worst natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
in recent times. Most of the destruction was in Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
. A preliminary estimate of property damage was $280 million (1959 USD).
The storm sank three merchant ships, and two other vessels. On one ship, the Sinaloa, 21 of 38 hands went down. On another, the El Caribe, all hands were lost. As many as 150 total boats were sunk.
A quarter of the homes in Cihuatlán, Jalisco, were totally destroyed, leaving many homeless. In Manzanillo, Colima
Manzanillo, Colima
The name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
, 40 percent of all homes were destroyed, and four ships in the harbour were sunk. Large portions of Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
were isolated by flooding. Hundreds of people were stranded. Minatitlán, Colima
Minatitlán, Colima
Minatitlán is a municipality of the Mexican state of Colima. Its municipal seat is the city of Minatitlán, Colima. Its principal economic activities are farming, ranching and mining...
, suffered especially, as 800 people out of its population of 1000 were dead or missing, according to a message sent to President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964...
. In Colima, all coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
plantations were blown down and thousands of people were left out of work. That state's economy was damaged enough that officials thought it would take years to recover.
The hurricane also dumped heavy rains along its path. This water-logged the hills near Minatitlán, and contributed to huge mudslide late on October 29 that claimed 800 victims. The slide uncovered hundreds of venomous scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
s and snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, which killed tens more people in the aftermath. Additional hordes of scorpions were driven from their nests when the adobe walls crumbled away. The Governor of Colima
Governor of Colima
According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, the exercise of the Executive Power of this Mexican entity is placed in a single individual, called the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Colima who is chosen for a period of 6 years and is...
, Rodolfo Chávez Carrillo with the support of his wife, Lucia Pardo de Chavez, issued a plea for venom inoculations afterwards. In some places, the mud was 10 feet (3 m) deep. Water supplies were badly polluted, both by debris and dead bodies.
In the aftermath, air rescue operations were conducted, but the destruction of roads in the area hindered convoys carrying aid. Planes also made supply drops, but rescue operations were hindered by broken roads and rails. Survivors were vaccinated against typhoid and tetanus
Tetanus
Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...
. Part of Manzanillo was placed under quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
.
Records
This hurricane holds several records: By windspeed, it is the strongest landfall of any known East Pacific hurricane. Of the five tropical cyclones to make landfall in Mexico at Category 5 intensity, this one was only one to do so on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The other four are hurricanes JanetHurricane Janet
Hurricane Janet was the most powerful hurricane of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. It made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, causing catastrophic damage and at least 687 deaths in the Lesser...
, Anita
Hurricane Anita
Hurricane Anita was a powerful Atlantic hurricane during an otherwise quiet 1977 Atlantic hurricane season. The first tropical cyclone of the season, Anita developed from a tropical wave on August 29 in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. It tracked westward into an area with conditions favorable for...
, Gilbert
Hurricane Gilbert
Hurricane Gilbert was an extremely powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season and created widespread destruction in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic basin behind only...
, and Dean
Hurricane Dean
The name Dean was used for five tropical cyclones in the Northern Atlantic Ocean:*1983's Tropical Storm Dean, which struck the coast of Virginia, causing minor erosion and flooding...
. Also, it is the only known Pacific hurricane to make landfall as a Category 5. Reaching Category 5 intensity on October 27, it holds the record for the latest date any Pacific hurricane has done that in a season. Similarly, it is the first known Pacific hurricane to reach Category 5 intensity in the eastern Pacific proper (between 140°W and North America); the only earlier system, Hurricane Patsy
Hurricane Patsy (1959)
Hurricane Patsy was a tropical cyclone of both the 1959 Pacific typhoon season and the 1959 Pacific hurricane season...
, was located in the Central Pacific (140°W to the dateline), although records before 1949 remain incomplete.
The cyclone was the deadliest east Pacific hurricane. Its death totals are higher than any other known Pacific hurricane, including Hurricanes Paul and Liza
Hurricane Liza (1976)
Hurricane Liza was one of the deadliest East Pacific tropical cyclones on record. The seventeenth tropical cyclone, thirteenth named storm, and the eight hurricane of the 1976 Pacific hurricane season, Liza developed from an area of disturbed weather to the southwest of Mexico on September 25...
, the only other known systems to come close to, or exceed, 1000 deaths. It was also one of the most intense landfalling Pacific Hurricanes.
See also
- List of tropical cyclones
- List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes