Hurricane Fifi–Orlene
Hurricane Fifi, later known as Hurricane Orlene, was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that killed over 8,000 people in Honduras in September 1974, ranking it as the third deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, only behind Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and the 1780 hurricane. Fifi is also the first billion-dollar hurricane not to make landfall in the United States. Originating from a strong tropical wave on September 14, the system steadily tracked west-northwestward through the eastern Caribbean. On September 16, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Fifi just off the coast of Jamaica. The storm quickly intensified into a hurricane the following afternoon and attained its peak intensity on September 18 as a strong Category 2 hurricane. Maintaining hurricane intensity, Fifi brushed the northern coast of Honduras before making landfall in Belize the following day. The storm quickly weakened after landfall, becoming a depression late on September 20. Continuing westward, the former hurricane began to interact with another system in the eastern Pacific.
Early on September 22, Fifi re-attained tropical storm status before fully regenerating into a new tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Orlene. Orlene traveled in an arced path toward Mexico while quickly intensifying into a Category 2 hurricane before landfall. The storm weakened after landfall and dissipated fully during the afternoon of September 24 over the mountains of Mexico. Along its path, Fifi impacted nine countries, leaving over 8,200 fatalities and $1.8 billion in damages. Most of the loss of life and damage occurred in Honduras where rainfall from the hurricane, peaking around, triggered widespread flash flooding and mudslides.
In a single town, between 2,000 and 5,000 people were killed overnight after a massive flood inundated the area. Fifi brought continuous rainfall to the area for three days, hampering relief efforts in what was the worst disaster in Honduras' history at the time. In nearby Guatemala, an additional 200 people were killed by severe flooding, making Fifi the worst hurricane to impact the country in nearly 20 years. Following the catastrophic damage wrought by the storm, relief agencies from around the world flew in emergency supplies to assist the hundreds of thousands of homeless people. Countries closer to Honduras, such as the United States, set up city donation centers that would send supplies to the country. In efforts to prevent the spread of post-storm diseases, the government allowed the burning of bodies as they were recovered. In a single day, up to 6,000 bodies were burned. Due to the extreme damage and loss of life, the name was retired from the list of Atlantic hurricane names and has not been used since.
Meteorological history
Hurricane Fifi originated from a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on September 8. As the storm entered the Atlantic, satellite imagery showed that the system was already well-developed. Traveling westward, the wave entered the Caribbean Sea by September 13. Soon after emerging into the Caribbean, convective activity quickly increased. The following day, a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft flew into the system and found a developing low-level circulation. Operationally, the system was not declared a tropical depression by the National Hurricane Center until late on September 15; however, in the Atlantic hurricane database, it was determined that it had become a tropical depression during the afternoon of September 14. The NHC initially forecast the depression to continue its west-northwest track, eventually brushing Cuba, although the storm never took the northerly turn.The depression continued to organize as it turned westward, and late on September 16 the system intensified into Tropical Storm Fifi while just south of Jamaica. As it moved due west, the storm intensified, attaining hurricane status roughly 24 hours after being named following the formation of an eyewall feature. At that time, the storm was asymmetrical, with gale-force winds extending up to to the north and up to to the south. The storm turned slightly southwestward, and by September 18, Fifi reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a barometric pressure of 971 mbar. This made Fifi a high-end Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, which had been adopted the previous year. Around this time, the hurricane had nearly doubled in size, with a gale diameter now covering an area across.
Although earlier in the season Hurricane Carmen had attained Category 4 status in a similar location, Fifi was unable to intensify further due to its proximity to land. Most of the southern portion of the circulation was inhibited by the mountains of Honduras as it passed within of the coast. Fifi maintained its peak intensity for roughly 24 hours until it began to weaken shortly before making landfall near Placencia, Belize with winds of. After moving inland, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm and further deteriorated into a tropical depression once it moved over southwestern Mexico late on September 20. Two days later, the former hurricane emerged back over water near Acapulco, Mexico, becoming the third known tropical cyclone to traverse Central America and enter the northeastern Pacific hurricane basin. When it moved back over open waters, Fifi re-attained tropical storm status; however, it only maintained this intensity for 18 hours before being renamed Orlene. There is disagreement amongst tropical cyclone forecasting agencies as to the role Fifi played in Orlene's development.
After the formation or merger of the systems, Orlene began to intensify. During the afternoon of September 23, the storm intensified into a hurricane as it quickly traveled towards the north-northeast. Shortly before making landfall, a small eye developed within the center of the hurricane, resulting in the NHC upgrading it to a Category 2 storm with maximum winds of. However, the EPHC reported that the storm peaked with winds of. Rapid weakening took place following the storm's landfall, degenerating into a remnant low just six hours after moving inland. The remnant system persisted for several more hours before dissipating over the mountains of Mexico.
Preparations and impacts
Greater Antilles
On September 15, the Government of Jamaica began preparing for potential impacts from the storm. Residents were advised to be aware of possible rain squalls in association with the storm. Additionally, small craft advisories were issued due to rough seas produced by the then-tropical depression. Passing south of Jamaica as a tropical storm, Fifi brought heavy rains to the mountainous island, exceeding in some locations. Severe flooding affected parts of Kingston, leaving some areas under of water. Damages from the storm amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars, although no loss of life was reported. In nearby Hispaniola, the system produced moderate rainfall that triggered flash flooding. Small craft advisories were also issued for portions of southern Cuba as Fifi bypassed Jamaica. Ships were advised to remain in port throughout the Cayman Islands as residents began to prepare for hurricane-force winds.Honduras
Fifi first became a threat to Honduras on September 17 when the storm reached hurricane strength, at which point forecasters revised their forecasts to anticipate landfall in Honduras or Nicaragua on September 18 or 19. In response, officials in Honduras urged hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate from coastal and flood-prone areas. Despite the warning, relatively few heeded these evacuation orders, likely playing a role in the large loss of life following the storm.During the first day of the hurricane's onslaught, the region experienced winds of up to and unrelenting rainfall. The first reports of damage from the Honduran government via radio stated that 14 people had been killed while over 100 were missing. In just 24 hours, 182 towns and villages were completely destroyed. According to the Red Cross, between 800 and 1,200 people died within 12 hours of Fifi's landfall in Honduras. Buses driving through mountain passes skidded off the sides of cliffs due to slick roads, killing numerous people. Flash floods destroyed thousands of homes and isolated numerous towns. Waves, reaching in height, destroyed moorings and grounded numerous ships.
Continuous rain fell throughout September 19, resulting in widespread mudslides that killed over 2,000 people. A large mudslide blocked the Choloma River, preventing water from the river and the accumulated of rain caused by Fifi from reaching the ocean. The waters were released from this natural dam on September 20, when a concrete bridge broke upstream and tore through the mudslide. The torrent of water flowed down the valley, triggering a massive flood. The city of Choloma was decimated, with an estimated 2,800–5,000 people killed out of a population of 7,000. The flood occurred during the nighttime, so most residents were unaware of the impending catastrophe.
Other towns along the coast suffered similar fates as Choloma. In Armenta, roughly 400 families disappeared after a large landslide buried the town. However, the town is hardly known by people in the country and reports from the area were scarce. Another coastal town, Omoa was completely destroyed overnight on September 19. All of the residents were assumed to have perished; however, like Armenta, few people know of the town and estimates of the fatalities in it ranged from 30 to 3,000.
Although by this time the storm was situated inland over Mexico, its circulation continued to produce thunderstorms over Honduras, hindering rescue efforts. Nighttime rescues were prevented by dense fog blanketing most of the mountain valleys. The city of La Ceiba, population 53,000, was completely isolated from surrounding areas. Many were feared dead as newspapers reported bodies floating down rivers.
The death toll rose by the hundreds every day; at one point, the official death toll was estimated as high as 10,000. There is still uncertainty in the total number of fatalities due to Fifi. In general, however, most estimates range from 8,000 to 10,000. Overall this ranked Fifi as the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record at the time. It was eventually lowered to third after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 wrought similar destruction in the same region, leaving between 11,000 and 18,000 dead.
Throughout the country, Fifi inflicted nearly $1.8 billion as part of what was, at the time, the worst natural disaster in Honduras' history. Due to the damage that Fifi caused, Fifi is the costliest Atlantic Hurricane to reach a maximum of Category 2. In certain coastal regions, only structures built on higher elevations were left standing. Many cities were more than 80% destroyed. Fifi demolished over 10,000 well-constructed homes throughout Honduras. An estimated 150,000 people were left homeless due to Fifi. However, the Honduran government estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 were left homeless. The country's banana crop was completely destroyed by the hurricane; as a result, its economy was severely affected.