Hurricane Stan

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This article is about the 2005 Atlantic hurricane. For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Stan.
Hurricane Stan
Yucatan Peninsula and Southern Mexico
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Stan was the deadliest

barometric pressure of 977 mbar (28.9 inHg). The hurricane maintained this intensity until landfall near Punta Roca Partida
, Mexico later the same day. Once over the mountainous terrain of Mexico, however, Stan quickly weakened, and dissipated on October 5.

Due to Stan's position within a large area of

convective activity and thunderstorms, the hurricane's effects were far-reaching and widespread across Central America. Flash floods generated by the hurricane caused severe crop losses, particularly to coffee crops. Overall, Stan caused at least 1,673 deaths across six countries, with many others unaccounted for. Most of these fatalities occurred in Guatemala, and were mostly caused by mudslides triggered by torrential rainfall. The floods in Guatemala destroyed entire towns and disrupted exportation of petroleum. In Mexico, the heavy rains triggered additional mudslides and caused rivers to overflow, flooding nearby villages. Despite being relatively far from Stan as opposed to other countries, El Salvador was also severely affected by the hurricane. The Santa Ana Volcano
erupted while Stan was producing heavy rains in the country, which contributed to the damage already wrought by mudslides. Transportation in the country was disrupted. Across the region, Stan caused $3.9 billion in damages, primarily due to torrential rainfall.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

Hurricane Stan originated from a tropical wave that was first identified by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) off the west coast of Africa on September 17, 2005. Traveling westward, the wave remained weak, barely being notable. By September 22 convection began to increase; however, wind shear in the region prevented this development from continuing. The system entered the Caribbean several days later, a region with more favorable conditions for cyclonic development. Intermittent convection formed around the wave as it moved west-northwestward before the development maintained itself.[1] On October 1, the system had become sufficiently organized for the NHC to classify it as Tropical Depression Twenty,[2] with the center of circulation situated roughly 135 mi (215 km) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico.[1]

Located to the south of a low to mid-level

CDT) on October 2, Stan made its first landfall near Punta Hualaxtoc, Mexico, roughly 35 mi (55 km) south of Tulum, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h).[1] Over the following 18 hours, the weak storm traversed the southern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. Upon entering the Gulf of Mexico on October 3, Stan had weakened to a tropical depression;[1] however, convection began to redevelop over the storm's center,[4] allowing the system to re-attain tropical storm status.[1]

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission estimate of rainfall from Hurricane Stan; September 29 – October 5

A strong area of high pressure over the western Gulf of Mexico forced the storm to turn southwestward, back to the Mexican coastline.

barometric pressure of 977 mbar (hPa; 28.85 inHg) at this time. Not long after moving over the mountainous terrain of central Mexico, Stan rapidly weakened to a tropical depression and fully dissipated early on October 5 over the state of Oaxaca.[1]

Preparations

Some 100,000 inhabitants of the

armed forces evacuated the inhabitants of a dozen or so towns on the coastal plain, between World Heritage Site Tlacotalpan in the west and the lakeside resort of Catemaco
in the east.

Impact

Impact by country
Country Fatalities Damage (USD) Refs
Costa Rica 1 20 million [7]
El Salvador 69 356 million [7][8]
Guatemala 1,513 996 million [9][10]
Honduras 7 100 million [11]
Mexico 80 2.5 billion [1][7]
Nicaragua 3 N/A [7]
Total 1,673 3.96 billion

Around the time of Stan's existence, torrential rainstorms dropped upwards of 20 inches (500 mm) of rain, causing severe flash floods, mud slides, and crop damage (particularly to the coffee crop which was close to harvest) over portions of Mexico and Central America, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Most of the rainstorms were non-tropical in nature and impossible to relate to the hurricane; however, the impact of the larger weather system can be considered as a whole.

Hundreds were reported missing and were feared dead throughout the region. One estimate put the death toll above 2,000 in Guatemala alone. The final death toll will likely never be known due to the extensive decomposition of bodies in the mud.[12]

Most of the reported fatalities were as a result of the flooding and mudslides, although eight of the deaths in

Sololá department
.

mangroves.[13]

Mexico

As a tropical storm, Stan brought torrential rainfall and gusty winds to parts of the Yucatán Peninsula. Flash flooding took place in several areas; however, no loss of life was reported.[14]

Hurricane Stan making landfall in Veracruz

As the system progressed inland towards the Sierra Madre del Sur to the west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas were affected with torrential rains. Areas of Chiapas near the Guatemalan border were hit hard, particularly the coastal border town of Tapachula. In Tapachula the river overflowed its banks and caused tremendous damage (including the destruction of all the bridges leading in and out of the town), meaning that it was only accessible through the air. The state government reported that 33 rivers broke their banks and that an indeterminate number of homes, upwards of 20 bridges, and other infrastructure were smashed in the storm's wake.

Some areas in the Sierra Norte, in the central state of Puebla, were also flooded. Three people died in a mudslide at Xochiapulco Hill.

In addition, Pemex evacuated 270 employees from its oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, although no damage was reported and the plants were restarted.

The

Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Veracruz. According to Mexican president Vicente Fox, Hurricane Stan wrought roughly 20 billion pesos (US$1.9 billion) in damage throughout the country.[15]

Honduras

Throughout Honduras, heavy rains produced by Hurricane Stan resulted in seven fatalities and roughly $100 million in losses.[11]

Guatemala

Landslides affecting infrastructure, crops, and water sources in Guatemala

By October 11, 2005, at least 1,500 people were confirmed to have died, and up to 3,000 were believed missing. Many communities were overwhelmed, and the worst single incident appears to have occurred in

petrol shortages, including in Quetzaltenango.[citation needed
]

El Salvador

The October 1 eruption of the Santa Ana Volcano, located near the capital San Salvador, compounded the problems, which led to even more destructive floods and mudslides from Stan.

Damage from Stan and the volcano was estimated at $355.6 million (2005 USD), equivalent to 2.2% of the country's GDP from the previous year.[8]

A state of emergency was declared. According to the director of El Salvador's National Emergency Centre, 300 communities were affected by the floods, with over 54,000 people forced to flee their homes. A state of emergency also was called for in Guatemala by President Óscar Berger where 36,559 people were reported in emergency shelters. Some looting was also reported, a scene reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina five weeks previous.[citation needed]

A spokesman for the Salvadoran

Red Cross said that "the emergency is bigger than the rescue capacity, we have floods everywhere, bridges about to collapse, landslides and dozens of roads blocked by mudslides". The Pan-American Highway was cut off by mudslides leading into the capital, San Salvador
, as well as several other roads. 72 deaths were confirmed in El Salvador.

Retirement

Because of the severe damage and extensive loss of life wrought by the storm, the name Stan was

Atlantic hurricane naming lists in April 2006 by the World Meteorological Organization. The name will never again be used for another tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin. It was replaced with Sean for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.[16][17]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Note that only 80-100 of the deaths were estimated to have been as a result of Stan; the rest were not caused by Stan itself but were the result of the large system of non-tropical rains that had spawned the hurricane.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Richard J. Pasch and David P. Roberts (February 14, 2006). "Hurricane Stan Tropical Cyclone Report" (PDF). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  2. ^ Stacy Stewart (October 1, 2005). "Tropical Depression Twenty Public Advisory One". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  3. ^ Richard Knabb (October 2, 2005). "Tropical Storm Stan Discussion Four". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  4. ^ Richard Knabb (October 3, 2005). "Tropical Storm Stan Discussion Eight". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Richard Pasch (October 3, 2005). "Tropical Storm Stan Discussion Eleven". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  6. ^ Richard Knabb (October 4, 2005). "Hurricane Stan Discussion Thirteen". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. "EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database". Université catholique de Louvain. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation for El Salvador and Guatemala - UN SG Report (A/61/78-E/2006/61) (Report). United Nations General Assembly. May 3, 2006. ReliefWeb. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  9. ^ One year after Stan, Guatemala needs more assistance (Report). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. October 10, 2006. ReliefWeb. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  10. ^ Vulnerability, Risk Reduction, and Adaptation to Climate Change Guatemala (PDF) (Report). Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. April 2011. p. 8.
  11. ^ a b Disaster Risk Management in Latin America and the Caribbean Region: GFDRR Country Notes Honduras (PDF) (Report). Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. 2010. p. 172. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  12. ^ NHC end-of-season summary
  13. ^ Tuckman, Jo (October 7, 2005). "The deadly aftermath of a hurricane called Stan". The Guardian. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  14. ^ Staff Writer (October 2, 2005). "Flooding in Yucatán as Tropical Storm Stan dumps heavy rain". EFE World News Service. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  15. ^ Jason Lange (October 10, 2005). "Death count from Hurricane Stan rises in Mexico, Central America". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on October 11, 2005. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  16. ^ "Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma "Retired" from List of Storm Names". NOAA. April 6, 2006. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  17. NOAA Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. May 2006. p. 3-8. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hurricane Stan.
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