By Kevin Clarke, Gleaner WriterTHE GLEANER'S headline of Friday, August 17, 1951 was 'Hurricane may hit Jamaica today'. This eerie forewarning, however, did not prepare Jamaica for the onslaught of Hurricane Charlie, which at the time was the most severe hurricane to hit the island in 70 years.
The report indicated that the storm was moving exceptionally fast and while meteorologists were hopeful that it would stay its course and keep to the south of the island, they projected that wind speeds at the centre of the storm could increase from between 18 to 20 miles per hour to 75 miles per hour.
UNLEASHING FURY
At 8:30 that night Hurricane Charlie struck, unleashing its fury with 125-mile per hour winds and rain. In its aftermath, the hurricane left 154 people dead, 25,000 victims homeless and a decimated Banana and Coconut industry with the downing of trees in three parishes while, water, telephone and telegraph services were disrupted and roads made impassable.
The hurricane levelled houses, wrecked ships at port, destroyed the Palisadoes Airport instalment and the Victoria pier. A collapsed dormitory at the General Penitentiary allowed 76 convicts to escape. They, along with other unlawful entities, would later wreak havoc on Kingston's business district with rampant looting.
HARDEST HIT PARISHES
The hardest hit parishes were St. Thomas, Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and Clarendon with Port Royal being completely destroyed for the third time in its history. The Corporate Area had over 12,000 people homeless, St. Thomas 10,000 and 3,000 elsewhere in the island. In total, over £16 million worth of damage was done and it took the island over five years to fully recover from the effects.
In the ensuing days, The Gleaner told the many stories which were created with the coming of the hurricane. Stories of death proliferated, such as that of the father of three who in an attempt to save his youngest child lost the other two when the house he left them in collapsed, or that of the eight elderly inmates housed in the corporation infirmary who were killed when the roof of their wards caved in.
NOTEWORTHY TALES
Other noteworthy tales were gleaned as well, such as that of a group of convicts, who after saving the occupants of a tenement which had collapsed, trapping them inside, held up and robbed a grocer on the same premises. But through it all the country was trying to find some semblance of normalcy, though many citizens had taken refuge in various church halls around the island. The Gleaner airdropped copies of the daily paper into various towns.
The effect Hurricane Charlie has had on the psyche of Jamaicans is still with us today. People of that generation will always reiterate the fact that they survived it and to some it is regarded as the ultimate sign of resilience.
