A Look Back At The Historic Hurricanes That Changed Communities

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – From Andrew to Katrina, Irma, Maria, and Dorian, the Atlantic has seen its fair share of monster storms over the last three decades, each leaving a trail of destruction and rewriting the record books. Now, Hurricane Melissa joins that infamous list.

Roaring waves and howling winds have once again become the soundtrack of devastation, as Jamaica reels from Melissa’s Category 5 fury. The storm battered the island with catastrophic winds and heavy rainfall before moving toward eastern Cuba, and now, forecasters say, the southeastern Bahamas should brace for powerful winds, flooding, and heavy rain as the system moves closer.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew flattened parts of South Florida and tore through The Bahamas, destroying hundreds of homes and causing millions in damage. A little over a decade later, the twin storms Jeanne and Frances hit the northern Bahamas just two weeks apart, leaving widespread flooding and destruction.

Then came Katrina in 2005, one of the deadliest and costliest storms in U.S. history, claiming more than 1,800 lives and causing over $160 billion in damage.

In 2017, back-to-back Category 5 storms Irma and Maria ripped through the Caribbean, leaving an estimated 3,000 dead and entire islands unrecognizable.

But for Bahamians, no storm has been more defining than Hurricane Dorian in 2019, a monster Category 5 that stalled over Abaco and Grand Bahama for nearly two days, unleashing 185 mph winds and causing billions in destruction. It remains the costliest disaster in Bahamian history, with hundreds still missing and thousands displaced.

Now, Hurricane Melissa has become another deadly benchmark, its slow, punishing movement eerily reminiscent of Dorian’s. The storm has already caused catastrophic flooding in Jamaica and eastern Cuba, and experts warn the worst may be yet to come for parts of The Bahamas.

Meteorologists say storms like Andrew, Katrina, Irma, Maria, Dorian, and now Melissa, mark a new era of stronger, slower, and more destructive hurricanes,  a stark reminder that preparation saves lives.