Hurricane Gilbert devastated the islands of the Caribbean, the coast of Mexico and Texas (Birchall 182). This storm that some referred to as the "storm of the century" occurred in the beginning of September, 1988 (www.disasterrelief.org). Hurricanes are known for being violent tropical storms with wind speeds of a minimum of seventy-two miles per hour (students.sunysuffolk.edu). Hurricanes are giant whirlwinds which are capable of doing great amounts of damage (students.sunysuffolk.edu). The storm was becoming more powerful in St. Lucia, in the area of 75 degrees west and 20 degrees north, soon turning into a hurricane and heading straight for Mexico and Texas (students.sunysuffolk.edu). Hurricane Gilbert had many environmental, political, economic and social consequences in the tropical area that it hit.
             Hurricane Gilbert caused an enormous amount of damage to the environment. Gilbert knocked down many trees. The estimated damages to livestock and crops equaled to $769M (students.sunysuffolk.edu). This is important because it destroyed many of the farm lands of the citizens, whom relied on farming as their main source of income. In the industrial city of Monterrey, torrential rains unleashed a flashflood (www.disasterrelief.org). This flood killed at least 200 citizens when many buses and cars were washed away and buried under mud, rocks and debris (www.disasterrelief.org). This shows the intensity of the rainfalls and wind being able to push and bury vehicles. Gilbert reached category five status, winds greater than 155mph, when its winds were very strong up to 184mph (rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov). It also had a sea level pressure of 888 mb, which is the lowest sea level pressure ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere (www.csc.noaa.gov). This shows how powerful and fast this hurricane was compared to others from the same hemisphere. Hurricane Gilbert showered Mexico with 5-10 inches of rain, pounded Yucatan Peninsula ...