Fifty years ago on the night of September 22, 1955; Hurricane Janet rolled over the Caribbean. Noted as the Hurricane to have devastated Grenada, many persons do not realize the level of damage Saint Lucia also sustained.
Saint Lucia's damage assessment for Hurricane Janet reads like a present day assessment.
Vieux Fort:
- Twenty feet of the US Jetty Damaged was washed away.
Soufriere:
- Jetty destroyed as only the a few piles and planks remained.
- Waves of 15 – 20 feet recorded.
- Drum piers for storage of Coconut Oil belonging to Copra Manufacturers were heavily damaged.
Choiseul:
- Damaged occurred to the jetty.
- The public latrine and one house were washed away to sea.
Agriculture:
- Loading was not possible as the Vieux Fort Jetty Damaged.
- Twenty Five [25] Coconut trees were washed into the Soufriere Bay
The following is taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia…
Hurricane Janet was the most powerful hurricane of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season. At its strongest, it was a Category 5.
Janet formed east of the Windward Islands on September 21, slamming into Grenada as a Category 3 hurricane. As it traveled west across the Caribbean Sea, it intensified, reaching a peak strength of 175 mph (280 km/h), making it one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Janet made landfall on the border of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico as a Category 5, battering the town of Chetumal, Mexico. The storm moved over the Yucaton and tracked across the Gulf of Mexico and struck Tampico, Mexico.
In all, Janet killed more than 500 people. Janet also destroyed a U.S Weather Post on Swan Island about 400 miles west of Jamaica and caused the first loss of a Hurricane Hunter aircraft, a P2V Neptune… The aircraft flew from the airfield at Guantanamo Bay, and disappeared after signaling that it was entering the hurricane.
The name Janet was retired and will never be used for a hurricane again…
