Hurricane Michelle Weakens, Moves Out to Sea

Written by Christina Ward, Staff Writer, RedCross.org, with news reports

November 6, 2001 — After bringing heavy winds and strong surf to the Bahamas, a weakening Hurricane Michelle moved out into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday (Nov. 6), heading toward Bermuda. The storm was expected to lose its tropical characteristics later in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and become an extratropical low pressure system.

Cuba and Central America received the worst of Hurricane Michelle's heavy winds, rain and flash flooding.

Michelle was at its strongest point on Sunday (Nov. 4) when it slammed into Cuba with 135 mph winds. Then classified as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the storm killed at least five people in Cuba and caused heavy damage to crops and property throughout the island nation.

Although South Florida prepared well in advance for the approaching storm, evacuating the Florida Keys, closing schools and activating the state emergency operations center, coastal residents were largely spared the brunt of Michelle. Tropical force winds did pound several of the state's beaches, however, causing the worst erosion of the year.

Otherwise, aside from minor coastal flooding, Florida was mostly unaffected. All evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes on Monday afternoon.

"Florida is in great shape. Things are already pretty much back to normal," Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, told the Associated Press on Monday afternoon. "We are getting some strong winds mainly along the coastline, but once you move inland things are fine."

As of 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, the center of Michelle was about 400 miles southwest of Bermuda, moving to the northeast at 29 mph. The storm carried sustained winds near 75 mph and was forecast to weaken steadily over the next 24 hours.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Bermuda.

Meanwhile, Cuba continued to assess damage and start recovery efforts. Michelle struck the island nation on Sunday, destroying crops, flooding homes and knocking out power and phone lines. CNN reported that Cuba's Civil Defense Authority evacuated more than 600,000 people earlier in the weekend, most of whom lived in Pinar del Rio and Havana.

Losing strength, Michelle is expected to move out to sea this week.

The Cuban Red Cross assisted government emergency teams in the mass evacuations on Saturday and Sunday. Over 80 percent of the population in Pinar del Rio was evacuated. Cuban Red Cross volunteers were managing emergency shelters, providing food and other relief as needed.

The Associated Press reported that Cuba's National Defense confirmed five deaths during a Monday afternoon state television broadcast. Two men and two women were killed in the province of Matanzas when buildings collapsed as the hurricane plowed through, and a fifth man drowned in Playa Larga on the coast of Matanzas.

At least 23 homes were reportedly destroyed in Havana, and state television reported that more were expected to collapse as they dried out.

According to a BBC report, large areas of farmland in the west and center of the country were devastated, with likely damage to staple sugar, banana, citrus and coffee crops. Cuban state television reports also showed images of medical workers wading through knee-deep water in the main hospital in Havana.

Michelle formed as a tropical depression off the Gulf of Honduras one week ago and brought heavy rains, flash floods and mudslides to much of the Central American coast. The storm system killed at least 12 people and forced some 115,000 people from their homes in Jamaica, Nicaragua and Honduras.

As floodwaters receded this weekend, emergency crews in Honduras continued to rescue hundreds of people who had been stranded in remote villages.

The Honduran government declared a state of emergency last week for the departments of Atlantida, Colon, Cortes, Santa Barbara and Yoro. More than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Most of the people affected live in La Lima, in the department of Cortes.

American Red Cross disaster workers in Honduras assisted the Honduran Red Cross in distributing food, plastic sheeting, blankets, hygiene items and water containers to affected villages.