Hurricane Ivan
Updated: 24 June 2005
Profile
| Event dates | 2 – 24 September 2004 |
| Area |
Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Grenada, Venezuela, Saint Lucia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Mexico, US |
| Fatalities | > 124 |
| Economic loss | USD 20.0 bn |
| Insured loss | USD 13.0 bn |
Event description
Hurricane Ivan was the third major hurricane to impact the Caribbean and the US in 2004. It formed in the Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands and reached hurricane strength on 5 September, building to a Category 5 hurricane with winds of up to 280 km/h. Hurricane force winds extended outward from the eye up to 160 km, and tropical storm force winds were experienced up to 400 km away (click to view map)
On 6 September 2004, Ivan brushed past Barbados, damaging more than 300 houses, but most services were quickly resumed. The next day, Ivan, by then a Category 3 hurricane, unleashed its fury on Grenada, claiming more than 34 lives, damaging or destroying 90% of the houses and rendering homeless 60% of the 100 000 inhabitants. Also affected were the surrounding islands of Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as parts of Venezuela but none as severely as Grenada.
On 11 September, Ivan passed 75 km to the south of Jamaica, again strengthening to a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 240 km/h.
Widespread damage occurred as waves up to 6 metres crashed into coastal buildings. Ivan hit the Cayman Islands the next day, severely damaging more than half the 15 000 homes and some hotels on Grand Cayman. Ivan then skirted the west of Cuba and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico.
In the early hours of 16 September, Ivan made landfall at Gulf Shore in Alabama, with winds up to 217 km/h battering the coastline. Waves up to 8 metres destroyed houses along the Florida coast. Some 200 000 homes and businesses were left without power. In Florida's Bay County, five tornadoes spawned by the hurricane claimed two lives and damaged more than 70 homes. There was forced evacuation for nearly two million residents in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Economic loss
Total economic loss is estimated at USD 20.0 bn.
Insured loss
Insured loss is estimated at roughly USD 11.2 bn.
Hurricane track
Further related information
