Hurricane Janet
Template:Short description Template:Hatnote group Template:Good article Template:Infobox weather eventTemplate:Infobox weather event/NWSTemplate:Infobox weather event/EffectsTemplate:Infobox weather event/Footer Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to cause 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 storm name to be retired. The eleventh tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the year,<ref group="nb">A major hurricane is a storm that ranks as Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.<ref name=BASIC>Template:Cite book</ref></ref> Janet formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea, Janet fluctuated in intensity, but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of Template:Convert. The intense hurricane later made landfall at that intensity near Chetumal, Mexico on September 28. After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula, it moved into the Bay of Campeche, where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29. Janet quickly weakened over Mexico's mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30.
In its developmental stages, Janet caused $7.8 million in damage to the Lesser Antilles and 189 deaths in the Grenadines and Barbados.<ref group="nb">All damage totals are in 1955 United States dollars unless otherwise noted.</ref> While Janet was in the central Caribbean Sea, a reconnaissance aircraft flew into the storm and was lost with all hands. This remains the only such loss which has occurred in association with an Atlantic hurricane. A Category 5 upon landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet caused severe devastation in areas of Quintana Roo and British Honduras. Only five buildings in Chetumal, Mexico remained intact after the storm, and an estimated 500 deaths occurred in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. At Janet's second landfall near Veracruz, significant river flooding ensued, worsening effects caused by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the month. The floods left thousands of people stranded and killed at least 326 people in the Tampico area, leading to the largest Mexican relief operation ever executed by the United States.
Janet's landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Yucatán Peninsula was the first recorded instance of a storm of such intensity in the Atlantic making landfall on a continental mainland; prior to Janet, landfalls of Category 5 intensity were only known to have taken place on islands.<ref name=Monsters>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Janet's minimum barometric pressure, recorded in Chetumal, was at the time the second-lowest-recorded pressure on land associated with a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. At least 1,023 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Janet, as well as $65.8 million in damages.
Meteorological historyEdit
Template:Storm path A weak tropical disturbance was first reported by the Air France and Iberia airlines east of the Lesser Antilles early on September 21. Although it was speculated that the disturbance originated from a tropical wave near Cape Verde, the Weather Bureau considered the system too weak to be detected due to a lack of reports from the islands.<ref name=mwr>Template:Cite journal See pp. 321–323.</ref> At 1800 UTC on September 21, while it was located Template:Convert east-southeast of Martinique,Template:Atlantic hurricane best track<ref name=Janet10>Template:Cite news</ref> the disturbance became sufficiently organized for the Weather Bureau to classify it as Tropical Storm Janet, the tenth named storm of the season.<ref name=Janet10 /> Upon classification, Janet quickly intensified as it moved to the west.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track<ref name=adv>Template:Cite report</ref> On September 22, Janet attained hurricane strength, and proceeded to intensify rapidly as it moved westward across the Windward Islands.<ref name=mwr /> By 1200 UTC that day, Janet already attained Category 3 hurricane strength with maximum sustained winds of Template:Convert, before stalling in intensification.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track
Shortly after 1700 UTC on September 22, the eye of Janet passed south of Barbados as a Category 1 Hurricane.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A reconnaissance flight into the hurricane discovered that the Hurricane Janet's eye measured only Template:Convert in diameter,<ref name=mwr /> with gale-force winds extending Template:Convert away from the center of circulation.<ref name=adv /> The flight also reported a minimum barometric pressure of Template:Convert. After passing between the islands of Grenada and Carriacou in the morning hours of September 23, Janet entered an area of unfavorable conditions in the eastern Caribbean Sea.<ref name=mwr /> As a result, the hurricane became disorganized, with winds weakening to Template:Convert by 1200 UTC on September 23.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track<ref name=mwr /> A U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane entered the hurricane early on September 24, reporting a lack of organization, and noting an indiscernible center of circulation with weak rainbands.<ref name="mwr"/> However, the hurricane began to reintensify in favorable conditions, regaining major hurricane strength by 1200 UTC on September 24 and subsequently Category 4 hurricane intensity by the next day.<ref name=adv />Template:Atlantic hurricane best track
While trekking across the central Caribbean Sea, Janet was only slightly larger than while it was moving over the Windward Islands, with gale-force winds extending Template:Convert out from the center by September 25.<ref name=adv /> Remaining a Category 4 hurricane as it moved erratically westward across the Caribbean, a reconnaissance flight mission during the night of September 25–26 indicated strong rainbands with frequent lightning strikes and a well-defined eye, evidence that the storm was once again rapidly intensifying.<ref name=mwr /> As it neared the Yucatán Peninsula on September 26, Janet began accelerating in forward speed.<ref name=adv /> After the reconnaissance flight Snowcloud Five was lost while making a penetration into the hurricane's eye, another flight early on September 27 reported a minimum pressure of Template:Convert, with winds in excess of Template:Convert "by a large and incalculable amount."<ref name=mwr /> The hurricane was estimated to have intensified to Category 5 hurricane intensity—the highest rating on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale—at 1700 UTC on September 27, shortly before passing over the Swan Islands. Janet continued to intensify afterwards, eventually reaching its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of Template:Convert,Template:Atlantic hurricane best track with gale-force winds having expanded to at least Template:Convert away from the center of the hurricane.<ref name=adv /> Janet maintained peak intensity as it made landfall in extreme southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, just east of Chetumal, Mexico. In that city, an anemometer at the airport reported winds of Template:Convert before being blown away, and a barometer indicated a minimum barometric pressure of Template:Convert in the eye of Janet.<ref name=mwr /> At the time, this was the second-lowest pressure ever recorded on land in a landfalling Atlantic hurricane, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane,<ref name="mwr"/> though Janet was later surpassed by hurricanes Dean and Gilbert, which also made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as Category 5 hurricanes.<ref name=Dean>Template:Cite report</ref>
Once over land, Janet considerably weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of Template:Convert. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula with a forward speed of Template:Convert, the hurricane emerged into the Bay of Campeche by 1600 UTC on September 28.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track<ref name="adv" /> The weakened hurricane marginally intensified as it crossed the Bay of Campeche to a secondary peak intensity of Template:Convert with a minimum central pressure of Template:Convert.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track Janet eventually made its final landfall Template:Convert north of the city of Veracruz by 2200 UTC on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane. After moving inland, the hurricane became quickly disorganized due to the highly mountainous terrain of Mexico, and as a result the Weather Bureau issued its last advisory on Janet.<ref name=adv /> The weakening system degenerated to tropical storm strength by September 30, and later dissipated over central Mexico by 0600 UTC that day.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track Janet's remnant circulation contributed to the development of a disturbed area of weather off the western coast of Mexico that would subsequently develop into a tropical storm on October 1.<ref name=adv />
PreparationsEdit
Caribbean IslandsEdit
Upon Janet's formation east of the Windward Islands, the Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico advised small craft to remain in port and vessels in the path of the developing storm to exercise caution. After a reconnaissance flight reported much stronger winds than initially suggested, hurricane warnings were issued at 1600 UTC on September 22 for the entirety of the Lesser Antilles from Saint Lucia to Grenada, including Barbados. Storm warnings were issued for all islands in the Windward Islands from Saint Lucia south to Tobago, excluding St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All warnings in the Windward Antilles remained in effect until 1000 UTC on September 22. Shortly after warnings were lowered in the Windward Islands, storm warnings were issued for the ABC islands and the Paraguaná Peninsula of Venezuela at 0200 UTC on September 23. After Janet passed north of the islands, all storm warnings were lifted on the morning of September 25. The Weather Bureau later warned interests in Jamaica, but did not issue any hurricane-related warnings for the island.<ref name=adv />
Yucatán Peninsula and MexicoEdit
The Weather Bureau first began cautioning areas of Central America at 1600 UTC on September 26, advising people in areas of northeast Nicaragua and Honduras to take precautionary measures, along with all vessels and small craft in the Gulf of Honduras south to Cabo Gracias a Dios. After Janet began accelerating towards the west-northwest, advisories warned areas in British Honduras and Quintana Roo of hurricane-related impacts. Though no official warnings were issued for areas of Central America, advisories published by the Weather Bureau cautioned interests in the hurricane's path up until landfall.<ref name=adv /> Evacuations took place in several coastal towns in Quintana Roo upon notification of the oncoming storm. People were evacuated to inland hillside shelters.<ref name=encyclopedia /> After the hurricane moved through the Yucatán Peninsula and entered the Bay of Campeche, the Weather Bureau alerted areas in the storm's path on the western side of Mexico's Gulf Coast. At the time, Janet was expected to make landfall between Veracruz and Tuxpan. Areas were warned of the storm's potential flooding and coastal impacts. The Weather Bureau advised all small craft south of Port O'Connor, Texas to remain in port. Notifications of Janet to potentially affected areas were stopped after the hurricane made landfall.<ref name=adv />
ImpactEdit
| Region | Total deaths |
Damage(USD) | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbados | 38 | Template:Ntsp | <ref name=mwr /><ref name="2000 Homeless" /> |
| British Honduras | 16 | Template:Ntsp | <ref name="mwr"/>Template:EM-DAT |
| Grenadines | 122 | Template:Ntsp | <ref name="mwr"/> |
| Hurricane Hunters | 11 | Template:Sort | <ref name="mwr"/> |
| Quintana Roo | 500 | Template:Ntsp | <ref name="mwr"/><ref name="emdat"/> |
| Sonora | 0 | Template:Ntsp | <ref name="mwr"/> |
| Tamaulipas | 326 | Unknown | <ref name="326 Deaths" /> |
| Tobago | 10 | Unknown | <ref name="Saskatoon Smash" /> |
| Veracruz | Unknown | Unknown | <ref name="mwr"/> |
| Totals: | Template:Nts+ | Template:Ntsp | |
| Because of differing sources, totals may not match. | |||
During its existence, areas of the Lesser Antilles, ABC islands, and Central America were affected by Janet.<ref name=adv /> At least $65.8 million in damages and 1,023 deaths were caused by the hurricane, mostly in Quintana Roo.<ref name=mwr /><ref name="Saskatoon Smash" /><ref name="emdat"/> The large number of deaths and damage caused by Janet helped make the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season the deadliest and costliest hurricane season documented since comprehensive record of such statistics began in 1942.<ref name=mwr />
Lesser AntillesEdit
As a small but rapidly intensifying hurricane, Janet passed just south of Barbados on September 22, becoming the first hurricane to strike the island in 57 years, since the 1898 Windward Islands Hurricane, until Hurricane Elsa struck the island in 2021. Maximum sustained winds on the south side of the island were estimated to be between Template:Convert.<ref name="mwr"/> The strong winds knocked out communication lines, preventing officials from accurately enumerating casualties on the island,<ref name=Smash /> though communications were still maintained by commercial cable companies and amateur radio.<ref name="High Damage">Template:Cite news</ref> Electric power was later restored, allowing newspapers to publish information on the storm.<ref name="Heavy Loss" /> Sugar cane, the island country's main source of revenue, was severely damaged, with losses estimated to be in excess of $1 million.<ref name=Smash>Template:Cite news</ref> Poorly constructed dwellings were blown apart by the strong winds.<ref name=Whirling /> An estimated 8,100 homes were damaged by the hurricane.<ref name=CDMA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The destroyed buildings and trees blocked highways,<ref name=Whirling>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Seawell Airport was forced to close.<ref name="Homeless Sentinel">Template:Cite news</ref> Heavy rains peaked at Template:Convert and a storm surge of Template:Convert swept away low-lying houses along the coast.<ref name=encyclopedia>Template:Cite book</ref> An estimated 2,000 people were left homeless due to the hurricane.<ref name="2000 Homeless" /> Property damage on Barbados was estimated to be $5 million,<ref name="2000 Homeless">Template:Cite news</ref> and at least 57 people were killed.<ref name="emdat"/>
On September 23 Janet passed directly between Grenada and Carriacou in the Grenadines, killing 122 people in the island chain.<ref name="mwr"/> An airport on Grenada was covered in debris strewn by the strong winds. Eight people were killed in a small town adjacent to the airport. Strong winds were also reported to have destroyed docks and warehouses, and unroofed a hotel in St. George's, Grenada.<ref name="Death Path">Template:Cite news</ref> Houses were also unroofed, and balconies of government offices in St. George's were torn off.<ref name=Palm>Template:Cite news</ref> All bridges in the island's interior regions collapsed,<ref name="108 Dead">Template:Cite news</ref> and spice crops sustained heavy damage.<ref name="Glasglow Havoc" /> An estimated 75% of nutmeg plantations were destroyed,<ref name="Adventure Guide" /> along with nearly all of the island's banana and cocoa crops.<ref name=BWI>Template:Cite news</ref> Three ships were also grounded in the local harbor.<ref name="Glasglow Havoc">Template:Cite news</ref> In The Carenage, the waterfront region of St. George's, debris was scattered and an Template:Convert pier collapsed.<ref name="Adventure Guide">Template:Cite book</ref> St. Vincent was mostly destroyed,<ref name="St. Vincent">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and St. Lucia suffered significant coastal damage.<ref name=NEMO>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Over $2.8 million in damages were estimated throughout the Grenadines.<ref name="mwr"/> Farther south, in Port of Spain, a church being used as a storm shelter collapsed, killing ten people.<ref name="Saskatoon Smash">Template:Cite news</ref>
Hurricane Janet skirted the ABC islands with strong winds as it passed to the north from September 24–25.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track In Aruba, gusts peaked at Template:Convert, uprooting trees. However, damage outside of trees was primarily insignificant. In Bonaire, piers were destroyed, and the island's coastal boulevard was damaged. Beach facilities at Curaçao's Piscadera and Vaersen Bays suffered considerable damage. Quays along the harbor entrance were also damaged.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
Snowcloud FiveEdit
On September 26, the hurricane hunter P2V-3W Neptune aircraft Snowcloud Five, led by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Grover B. Windham, was sent from Guantánamo Bay to investigate Janet, which was at the time a Category 4 hurricane south of Jamaica.<ref name="Hurricane Hunters">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Upon penetration of the hurricane's eyewall at an altitude of Template:Convert, a final transmission was received from the reconnaissance flight before it presumably crashed in the Caribbean Sea.<ref name="Bill Blog" /> All 11 people on board, including nine crew members and two journalists, were killed.<ref name="Bill Blog">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the loss of the plane, an extensive search and rescue operation took place over a large area of the Caribbean Sea, with 3,000 personnel involved with the search, returning no results.<ref name="Hurricane Hunters" /> The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, though it is speculated that the plane's altimeter gave an incorrect reading due to the low surrounding barometric pressure<ref name="Bill Blog" /> or that the excess workload placed on one of the crew members due to another crew member having been replaced by one of the reporters caused him to lose track of the plane's height above the water.<ref name="Hurricane Hunters" /> Although four hurricane reconnaissance flights have been lost since operations began in 1943, Snowcloud Five remains the only known loss of a reconnaissance aircraft as a result of a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, with the other three occurring as a result of Pacific typhoons.<ref name=Q&A>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Yucatán PeninsulaEdit
As it approached the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet passed over the Swan Islands north of Honduras as a Category 5 hurricane on September 27.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track The hurricane caused rough seas, and strong winds uprooted trees and antennas. After gusts exceeded an estimated Template:Convert, officials on the islands took shelter in a Navy seismograph building.<ref name=mwr /><ref name=Blasts>Template:Cite news</ref> Though no deaths were reported, Janet destroyed almost all buildings on the islands. The U.S. Weather Bureau and Civil Aeronautics Authority requested food and supplies for 82 people on the island after the storm passed.<ref name=Lash>Template:Cite news</ref>
Quintana RooEdit
After passing the Swan Islands, Janet made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula between Corozal Town, British Honduras, and Chetumal, Mexico, at 1700 UTC on September 28.<ref name="mwr"/> At the time, it had winds of Template:Convert.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track Hurricane-force winds were reported for two hours preceding the hurricane's landfall, with numerous pressure readings below Template:Convert.<ref name=mwr /> Roads and crops on the peninsula sustained heavy damage due to Janet.<ref name=Rip>Template:Cite news</ref> In Xcalak, Quintana Roo the strong winds from Janet flattened the port's infrastructure, and only one house remained intact after the storm's passage.<ref name=Xcalak>Template:Cite news</ref> 97 people were killed in Xcalak, constituting more than a third of the port's population.<ref name=Dying>Template:Cite news</ref> Chetumal, Mexico was devastated, with only four buildings left standing. Storm surge pushed water to a depth of Template:Convert, Template:Convert inland, despite the peninsula protecting the city from the open ocean. The death toll in Chetumal remains uncertain; 120 bodies were recovered in the city but it is unknown how many were ever found.<ref name="mwr"/> An additional 10,000 people in the city were left homeless after the hurricane, and were forced to sleep in the open overnight.<ref name=Bears /> Federal relief agencies previously providing service for areas affected by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year in western areas of the Gulf Coast of Mexico were ordered to extend relief operations to the Yucatán Peninsula.<ref name=SP>Template:Cite news</ref> In Quintana Roo, Hurricane Janet was estimated to have caused $40 million in damages and at least 500 deaths, the most of any region affected by Janet.<ref name=mwr />
British HondurasEdit
Making landfall near the border between Mexico and British Honduras, the latter colony's Corozal and Orange Walk districts, containing a population of 15,500 at the time, experienced severe devastation from Janet. Strong hurricane winds knocked down and damaged numerous trees across British Honduras, particularly in the Freshwater Creek Forest Preserve. There, an estimated 30% of all trees had been damaged, especially mahogany and sapodilla trees. Hurricane Janet also caused extensive damage to crops, with an estimated $2.631 million in damages. Fruit trees, maize, and sugar cane crops suffered the most damage. Sugar cane was expected to have a 20% decrease in yield due to the damage sustained after the storm. Pineapple crops and livestock experienced less significant losses. To a lesser extent, the hurricane also affected the Belize District and several of British Honduras' offshore cayes. Similar to Corozal and Orange Walk Districts, corn, trees, and coconut experienced the most severe damage of any crop.<ref name=Belize-Report>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Corozal Town, British Honduras, south of where Janet made landfall, 500 people were made homeless, and six people were killed.<ref name=Slap /> About 90% of all buildings in the town were destroyed,<ref name=Razed>Template:Cite news</ref> and communications were knocked out by the strong winds.<ref name=Slap>Template:Cite news</ref> Based on an average home cost of $2,000, it was estimated that property damage to homes in Corozal Town totaled $800,000.<ref name=Belize-Report /> Much of Santa Elena, British Honduras was also flattened by the strong winds.<ref name=Bears>Template:Cite news</ref> Farther south in Belize City, winds peaked at Template:Convert, though no damage was reported.<ref name=Roar>Template:Cite news</ref> In British Honduras, the hurricane's effects were less deadly than in Quintana Roo,<ref name=Ellensburg>Template:Cite news</ref> but in northern portions of the colony the storm killed 16 people and caused $5 million in damages.<ref name=mwr />
Mainland MexicoEdit
While in the Bay of Campeche, the shrimp boat Celestino Arias was sunken by strong waves generated by Janet after it suffered engine failures. The stranded ship was heavily damaged by the hurricane's strong winds in the bay, which broke towing lines. All of the ship's crewmen, which had evacuated the boat after it sunk, were later rescued and brought back to Tampa, Florida.<ref name="Tampa Boat">Template:Cite news</ref> Along the coast, tides were reported to be Template:Convert above average. Farther north along the Texas coast, tides were Template:Convert above average, blocking beach roads near Corpus Christi.<ref name="clim">Template:Cite book</ref>
Janet made its final landfall in the Mexican state of Veracruz between the cities of Nautla and Veracruz as a Category 2 hurricane at 2200 UTC on September 29.Template:Atlantic hurricane best track In Nautla, communications were cut by strong winds from the hurricane.<ref name=Repulse>Template:Cite news</ref> The strong winds also caused a relief plane to crash, causing five deaths.<ref name="17 More" /> Heavy rains in the Tampico, Tamaulipas area added to floods caused by hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year. The resulting flood was reported by the Weather Bureau office in New Orleans to be one of the worst natural disasters in Mexican history.<ref name=mwr /> In Tampico, Template:Convert of rain was reported.<ref name="Deluge Floods">Template:Cite news</ref> The floods contributed to a localized typhoid fever and dysentery outbreak,<ref name=blowout>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="New Flood">Template:Cite news</ref> causing over 1,000 people to evacuate out of the city to prevent further spreading of the diseases. An additional 36,000 people were being cared for in concentration centers.<ref name="New Flood" /> Although located south of where Janet made landfall, areas of Veracruz were inundated by strong storm surge, including the city's main streets and port.<ref name=Repulse /> Operations along a railroad stretching from Laredo, Texas to Mexico City were stopped, after having just reopened due to Hurricane Hilda.<ref name=Delay>Template:Cite news</ref>
Farther inland, as Janet dissipated over the mountainous central Mexico, the storm dropped torrential rainfall over the Tamesí and Pánuco River basins.<ref name="mpm"/> The water levels in the Panuco River remained above flood stage for four weeks.<ref name="Terrible Toll">Template:Cite news</ref> In Tampico, the river flooded neighborhoods, forcing cables to be stretched along roads to prevent people from being swept away. Small boats were also sent to monitor streets.<ref name="Record Floods">Template:Cite news</ref> According to some sources, 800 people died from the floods, with thousands more being stranded in the city.<ref name=mpm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tamazunchale was inundated by an overflowing Moctezuma River.<ref name=Grow>Template:Cite news</ref> The rains caused a landslide in Colonia San Rafael, killing 12 people.<ref name="17 More">Template:Cite news</ref> Heavy rains also impacted Guadalajara, which had previously not been affected by any tropical cyclones earlier in the year. In Maltarana, Jalisco, the Lerma and Duero Rivers overflowed, forcing 800 people in the town to evacuate.<ref name="Record Floods" /> Farther north, in Sonora, cotton crops damaged by Janet were estimated to amount to $12 million in damages.<ref name="Rains Continue" /> Combined property damage in Mexico from Hurricanes Gladys, Hilda, and Janet was estimated to total $200 million, nearly half of the government's 1955 national budget.<ref name="New Floods">Template:Cite news</ref> Although there were no official damage or fatality estimates,<ref name=mwr /> at least 1,000 people were injured and another 100,000 people were made homeless on the Mexican mainland due to Janet.<ref name="Rising Fast">Template:Cite news</ref>
AftermathEdit
Lesser AntillesEdit
After Janet passed Barbados, the island was declared to be in a state of emergency.<ref name="Heavy Loss">Template:Cite news</ref> Relief workers on Barbados helped to clean up debris scattered by the strong winds on highways, and the local government made requests for food and construction materials.<ref name=Venezuela>Template:Cite news</ref> The extensive damaged caused by Janet on the island to low-income households led the passage of the 1955 Housing Act, which created the National Housing Authority (NHA) in 1956. The NHA was responsible for the acquisition of lands on which houses could be built with stronger and more permanent materials, which was thought to minimize maintenance costs and hurricane-related damage. The newly founded organization quickly worked to rebuild homes after the hurricane struck.<ref name="Low-cost Barbados">Template:Cite book</ref>
In Grenada, the island's governor issued an emergency order against the hoarding of food in the aftermath of Janet, due to the food and water shortage that resulted from Janet. A United States destroyer and a British frigate were sent to bring relief supplies to Grenada, and ships departing from Jamaica and Trinidad were redirected to the island to help send supplies.<ref name="Aid Rush">Template:Cite news</ref> The British government later announced that it would send £50,000 (US$155,000) in relief to the Grenadines.<ref group="nb">Conversions from British Pounds to United States Dollars were done using a currency converter with an exchange date of September 29, 1955.<ref name=fxtop>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref><ref name=Kills350>Template:Cite news</ref> The Crown Agents and Red Cross delivered relief supplies to Barbados and the Grenadines, which included aluminum roofing sheets and portable electric generators.<ref name="Glasgow Herald">Template:Cite news</ref>
British Honduras and MexicoEdit
Relief and reconstruction measures were enacted in the British Honduras beginning on September 30.<ref name=Belize-Report /> A large-scale reconstruction program was initiated by the government to help rebuild 48 villages.<ref name=torebuild>Template:Cite news</ref> The government also declared a state of emergency for Corozal, Orange Walk, and Belize administrative districts, including a ban on liquor sales. Temporary communication lines were rebuilt, which initially only allowed official communications with affected areas. Due to the severity of the damage in Corozal, an airstrip was built to help deliver relief to the city more efficiently. Food depots in Corozal, Louisville, and Orange Walk Town were tasked with distributing food. The potential for widespread disease following the devastation wrought by Janet forced a widespread vaccination initiative against typhoid fever in affected areas.<ref name=Belize-Report /> The Jamaican government sent £20,000 (US$55,000) to the colony in relief funds,<ref name="Glasgow Herald" /> while the British government sent £40,000 (US$110,000) to affected areas in the British Honduras and other affected islands in the Caribbean. The United States sent the cargo ship USS Antares, which supplied the colony with various relief materials.<ref name=Belize-Report /> In Corozal Town, a $3.5 million grant was given to land surveyor H.C. Fairweather to plan and reconstruct the township.<ref name=CorozalJanet>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A U.S. Navy relief plane was sent to Chetumal, Mexico, to deliver food and other relief supplies after Janet struck the region.<ref name="Been Here">Template:Cite news</ref> In areas previously affected by hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year, federal relief agencies were ordered to extend relief operations to the Yucatán Peninsula.<ref name="SP"/> However, after crossing the Bay of Campeche and making landfall near Veracruz, relief measures were once again implemented in the western Gulf Coast of Mexico. The Mexican Air Force, commercial and private planes, and helicopters were sent to bring relief supplies and airlift refugees.<ref name="Fury Janet">Template:Cite news</ref> The United States initiated the largest relief campaign ever staged in Mexico at the time. Various government and relief agencies, including the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, participated in the relief efforts.<ref name=Toll>Template:Cite news</ref> The U.S. Air Force and United States Army began a joint-relief operation to send relief supplies to the Tampico area, beginning with the deployment of a Curtiss C-46 Commando from the Harlingen Air Force Base on October 1.<ref name="17 More" /> Ten other military transport aircraft from the U.S. Air Force were sent from Texas to provide food and clothing. Pan American World Airways sent a Boeing 314 from Miami, Florida to evacuate victims.<ref name="Rains Continue">Template:Cite news</ref> Helicopters were sent from the USS Saipan to transfer food and medical supplies from the light aircraft carrier. Other ships also aided in delivering supplies,<ref name=Battle>Template:Cite news</ref> including the USS Siboney, which also deployed helicopters to assist in relief efforts. By October 6, 1,500 people were estimated to have been rescued from the Tampico area, and at least Template:Convert of food and clothing materials were estimated to have been delivered by the US Air Force to the city.<ref name="Rains Continue" /> There, typhoid serum shots were administered as a precautionary measure.<ref name="326 Deaths">Template:Cite news</ref> Former president Manuel Ávila Camacho died of a heart ailment, in part due to over-exertion in helping in the relief efforts.<ref name=Ex-president>Template:Cite news</ref>
RetirementEdit
Due to the destruction left in its wake, the name Janet was retired by the U.S. Weather Bureau following the 1955 season. It was one of four names retired that year. Janet was also the first category five storm name and the first name beginning with the letter J to retire in the Atlantic basin. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The name Janet appeared on the designated storm name lists for 1960, 1964, and 1968 but was never used in those years. In 1969, a policy change permanently retired Janet. No name replacement was selected for Janet as the four-year lists used then were replaced in 1971 by a new series of 10 lists running through 1980 before recycling.
See alsoEdit
- Hurricane Carmen (1974)
- Hurricane Gilbert (1988)
- Hurricane Keith (2000)
- Hurricane Dean (2007)
- Hurricane Elsa (2021) – The next tropical cyclone to produce hurricane conditions on Barbados
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Retired Atlantic hurricanes Template:Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes Template:1955 Atlantic hurricane season buttons