1995 — Sep 15-16, Hurricane Marilyn, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico — 10

–10 CDC. “Deaths Associated with Hurricanes Marilyn and Opal [US Sep-Oct 1995].” 1-19-96.

—  8 (Direct). NHC/Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn [12-22 Sep 95]. 1-17-96.

—  8 (Direct). NWS. Natural Disaster Survey Report. Hurricane Marilyn September 15-16, 1995.

 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico       (2)

–2  CDC. “Deaths Associated with Hurricanes Marilyn and Opal [US Sep-Oct 1995].” 1-19-96.

–1  Asphyxia by submersion on boat during impact; body found 4 days later; male, 53. CDC.

–1  Electrocution; pre-impact shock while removing TV antenna on roof; male, 17. CDC.

–1  Culebra. NHC/Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn, 12-22 Sept 1995.[1]

–1        “       Drowning, male, 53. NWS. Natural Disaster Survey Report. Marilyn. 1996, A-1.

 

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands           (2)

–2  CDC. “Deaths Associated with Hurricanes Marilyn and Opal [US Sep-Oct 1995].” 1-19-96.

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; body found washed up on shore; male, 59. CDC.

–1  Natural causes — in shelter during impact; female, 107.[2]  CDC.

–1  NHC/Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn, 12-22 Sept 1995. 1-17-96.[3]

–1  Drowning, male, 60. NWS. Natural Disaster Survey Report. Marilyn. 1996, A-1.

 

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands            (1)

–1  NHC/Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn, 12-22 September 1995. 1-17-96.

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; female 48. CDC.

 

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands       (5)

–5  CDC. “Deaths Associated with Hurricanes Marilyn and Opal [US Sep-Oct 1995].” 1-19-96.

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; body found on shore; male 40[4] or 46. CDC.

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; body found washed up on shore; male 50+. (CDC)[5]

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; body found washed up on shore; male 62. (CDC)

–1  Drowning on boat during impact; body found washed up on shore; male 55-65. (CDC)[6]

–1  Head trauma on boat/impact with boat; body washed onto shore; male 50+ (CDC)[7]

–5  NHC/Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn, 12-22 September 1995. 1-17-96.

 

Narrative Information

 

CDC: “On September 15, Hurricane Marilyn, a category two (on a scale of one to five) storm with sustained winds of 105 mph, made landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The hurricane passed directly over St. Thomas (1990 population: 48,166) and affected St. John (1990 population: 3504) and St. Croix (1990 population: 50,139) in the USVI, and the islands of Culebra (1990 population: 1542) and Vieques (1990 population: 8602) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico…Gale-force winds, heavy rains, and storm surges of 3-5 feet resulted in damages reported at approximately $3 billion; more than 80% of the residential dwellings in St. Thomas were damaged or destroyed.[8]

 

“ME/C [Medical Examiner/Coroner] offices in the USVI and the Institute of Forensic Sciences in Puerto Rico provided information about hurricane-related deaths reported from September 15 through October 4. Specific information included characteristics about decedents (e.g., age and sex) and the circumstances of death (e.g., date of injury, date of death, location, cause of death, and other circumstances). “ME/Cs reported 10 deaths that were related, directly or indirectly, to Hurricane Marilyn….” (CDC)

 

NHC (Rappaport): “….The storm surge in the U.S. Virgin islands reached 6 to 7 feet, with an isolated storm tide of 11.7 feet reported on St. Croix. Rainfall totals reached about 10 inches in St. Croix and St. Thomas. An unofficial gust to 109 knots was reported from the island of Culebra….

 

“Marilyn caused severe damage to the U.S. Virgin Islands, in particular to St. Thomas. An estimated 80 percent of the homes and businesses on St. Thomas were destroyed and at least 10,000 people were left homeless. Some of the damage was reportedly attributable to lax construction standards and practices. According to FEMA, 30 percent of the homes on St. John were destroyed and 60 percent were roofless. About 20 to 30 percent of homes in St. Croix received damage. Trees fell and hotel windows broke there. Hillsides were littered with sheets of metal roofing, wooden planks and household debris. On Culebra, 250 homes were destroyed or severely damaged and light planes were overturned. Large waves crashed over the harbor at Dewey, Culebra, flooding streets. Flash floods occurred over northern and eastern Puerto Rico where the La Plata and Manati rivers overflowed.

 

“The American Insurance Services Group estimated insured losses for the U. S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at $875 million. Because the overall loss is often estimated to be up to about double the insured loss, the total U.S. loss is tentatively estimated at $1.5 billion. The U. S. Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research estimated the economic loss at $3 billion. FEMA placed the cost for their programs at $1 billion in the Virgin Islands and $50 million in Puerto Rico. The FEMA totals include losses not traditionally described by the NHC as ‘damage’ such as FEMA’s cost to set up field offices, inspector’s salaries, disaster unemployment compensation, and crisis counseling….

 

“About 12,000 people went to shelters in Puerto Rico. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, 2,243 people were sheltered.” (NHC/Rappaport)

 

NWS:  “Marilyn was the first hurricane to strike the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico since Hugo devastated the islands, almost to the day, 7 years earlier. Although Marilyn was not as intense, its effects were still dramatic. Eight deaths occurred, mostly on St. Thomas, mainly as a result of persons trying to ride out the storm on their boats. Preliminary damage estimates from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) totaled $2.1 billion with a majority of that centered on the city of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. This figure does not include indirect costs, such as the loss of tourism.

 

“The tropical depression that became Hurricane Marilyn formed just east of the Windward Islands on September 12, 1995. The depression rapidly increased to tropical storm strength (i.e., maximum 1-minute sustained winds between 39 and 73 miles per hour [mph]) later that same night and to hurricane force (i.e., 74 mph or greater) late on the evening of September 13…. Overall, official forecast track errors were dramatically less than the 10-year average which is an

exceptionally good performance by NHC….

 

“Marilyn’s eye passed across the east end of St. Croix where an amateur radio operator reported an unconfirmed wind gust of 127 mph around 5 p.m., AST, Friday, September 15. The eye then passed between St. Thomas and Culebra [Puerto Rico] with the most devastating portion of the eyewall moving across the west part of St. Thomas. Here, both storm surge and wind caused widespread destruction. The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), located at the St. Thomas airport, recorded sustained winds of 104 mph with a maximum gust to 129 mph around midnight, September 15-16. These are the strongest recorded winds associated with Marilyn. Wind gusts approaching 140 mph were estimated from an aerial damage survey conducted soon after the hurricane’s passage. Heavy rains, mudslides, and strong winds pounded Culebra and Vieques where damage was also considerable. Marilyn did not severely impact the main island of Puerto Rico although some strong winds and heavy rains did affect the island…. (p. vii)

 

“The number of deaths directly related to Marilyn was eight with most of those occurring on St. Thomas and mostly as a result of people trying to ride out the storm on their sailboats. The total death toll was remarkably low considering the severity of the damage. This was perhaps a testimony to the quality of the forecasts and preparedness activities that took place before the storm….

 

“Most of the damage to the U.S. Virgin Islands was the result of wind except for the storm surge along the immediate coast. This included 21,000 homes damaged or destroyed, 5,800 utility poles damaged, desalinization plant on St. Thomas inoperative, and repair of two sewage treatment plants required.

 

“In contrast, most of the damage in Puerto Rico was the result of flooding. Ten municipalities on the mainland of Puerto Rico were declared disaster areas due to the flooding — Aguas Buenas, Barranquitas, Canovanas, Carolina, Fajardo, Juncos, Loiza, Naguabo, Ceiba, and Comerio. Two other municipalities, San Lorenzo and Ciales, were declared eligible for infrastructure help only. Damage estimates for Puerto Rico, including Culebra and Vieques, were set at $10 million….”

(NWS Natural Disaster Survey Report, p. 1)

 

Sources

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Deaths Associated with Hurricanes Marilyn and Opal – United States, September-October 1995.” MMWR [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report], Vol. 45, No. 2, 1-19-1996, pp. 32-38. Accessed 5-5-2014 at:  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00040000.htm

 

National Hurricane Center (Edward N. Rappaport). Preliminary Report. Hurricane Marilyn, 12-22 September 1995. Miami, FL: NHC, National Weather Service, NOAA, Dept. of Commerce, 1-17-1996 update. Accessed 5-5-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995marilyn.html

 

National Weather Service, NOAA. Natural Disaster Survey Report. Hurricane Marilyn September 15-16, 1995. Silver Spring, MD: NWS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1996. Accessed 5-5-2014 at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/marilyn.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The NHC/Rappaport reports only “direct” deaths, and thus would not include the pre-impact electrocution fatality.

[2] “A 107 year-old woman died in an emergency shelter in the USVI; her death, although possibly precipitated by the circumstances of the hurricane, was attributed to natural causes.” Given the stress often experienced by people being moved to and living in an emergency shelter before and during a hurricane, and the negative impact of stress on the elderly, particularly those with pre-existing medical conditions, we are quite willing to believe that this woman might well not have died on the day she did except for the hurricane, thus we treat as a hurricane-related death.

[3] The NHC/Rappaport reports only “direct” deaths, and thus would not include the indirect natural causes death of the 107-year-old female in an emergency shelter.

[4] NWS Natural Disaster Service Report, at p. A-1, “Appendix A: Listing of Deaths Directly Associated with Hurricane Marilyn,” shows age as 40, whereas the CDC shows age as 46.

[5] NWS Natural Disaster Service Report, “Appendix A,” has age as 50.

[6] NWS Natural Disaster Service Report, “Appendix A,” has age as 65.

[7] NWS Natural Disaster Service Report, “Appendix A,” has age as 50.

[8] Cites:  Federal Emergency Management Agency. Situation reports, Hurricane Marilyn, 1995. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1995.