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Hurricane Guide: 2008 Season Gets Busy
published
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
ON THIS PAGE Saffir-Simpson Scale | Deadliest | Costliest Vulnerable States | Busiest Months | 2008 Names
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| Cat. | Winds (mph) | Damage | Examples |
| 1 | 74-95 | Damage to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, trees, poorly constructed signs | Allison, 1995; Danny, 1997 |
| 2 | 96-110 | Breakage of roofs, doors, windows; small trees blown down; flooding 2-4 hrs before hurricane | Bonnie, 1998; Georges, 1998 |
| 3 | 111-130 | Mobile homes destroyed; large trees blown down; flooding 3-5 hrs before hurricane | Roxanne, 1995; Fran, 1996 |
| 4 | 131-155 | Curtainwall failures in small residences; 10 ft flooding; evacuation as far inland as 6 miles | Luis, Felix, and Opal, 1995 |
| 5 | 155+ | Complete roof failure; escape routes cut by 15 ft flooding; evacuation as far inland as 10 miles | Mitch and Gilbert, 1998 |
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| Category Number | All (1-5) | Major (3-5) | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 65 | 41 | 50 | 16 | 2 | 174 | 68 |
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| Rank | Areas Worst Hit | Month/Year | Deaths |
| 1 | Martinique; St. Eustatius; Barbados; offshore | Oct 1780 | 20,000-22,000 |
| 2 | Galveston, TX | Sep 1900 | 8,000-12,000 |
| 3 | Honduras (FIFI) | Sep 1974 | 3,000-10,000 |
| 4 | Dominican Republic | Sep 1930 | 2,000-8,000 |
| 5 | Haiti; Cuba (FLORA) | Oct 1963 | 7,186-8,000 |
| 6 | Pointe-a-Pitre Bay, Guadoloupe | Sep 1776 | 6,000+ |
| 7 | Newfoundland Banks | Sep 1775 | 4,000 |
| 8 | Puerto Rico; Carolinas | Aug 1899 | 3,064+ |
| 9 | Florida; Guadeloupe; Puerto Rico; Turks Islands; Martinique | Sep 1928 | 3,375-4,075 |
| 10 | Cuba; Cayman Islands; Jamaica | Nov 1932 | 2,500+ |
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| Rank | Hurricane | Year | Cat. | Damage |
| 1 | Andrew (SE FL, SE LA) | 1992 | 5 | 34,954,825,000 |
| 2 | Hugo (SC) | 1989 | 4 | 9,739,820,675 |
| 3 | Agnes (FL, NE U.S.) | 1972 | 1 | 8,602,500,000 |
| 4 | Betsy (SE FL, SE LA) | 1965 | 3 | 8,516,866,023 |
| 5 | Camille (MS, SE LA, VA) | 1969 | 5 | 6,992,441,549 |
| 6 | Diane (NE U.S.) | 1955 | 1 | 5,540,676,187 |
| 7 | Frederic (AL, MS) | 1979 | 3 | 4,965,327,332 |
| 8 | Floyd (Mid Atlantic & NE U.S.) | 1999 | 2 | 4,666,817,360 |
| 9 | Unnamed (New England) | 1938 | 3 | 4,748,580,000 |
| 10 | Georges (USVI, PR) | 1998 | 3 | 3,888,000,000 |
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| Florida | 64 |
| Texas | 38 |
| North Carolina | 29 |
| Louisiana | 27 |
| South Carolina | 16 |
| Alabama | 12 |
| Mississippi | 9 |
| New York | 9 |
| Connecticut | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 6 |
| Georgia | 5 |
| Maine | 5 |
| Rhode Island | 5 |
| Virginia | 5 |
| New Hampshire | 2 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| Delaware | 0 |
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