This article is about the 1993 Atlantic hurricane. For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Gert.
Hurricane Gert Tropical Depression Fourteen-E
Gert at peak intensity near landfall in Veracruz on September 20
Meteorological history
Formed
September 14, 1993
Dissipated
September 26, 1993
Category 2 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
100 mph (155 km/h)
Lowest pressure
970 mbar (hPa); 28.64 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
116
Missing
16
Damage
$170 million (1993 USD)
Areas affected
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico
IBTrACS
Part of the 1993 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons
Hurricane Gert was a large tropical cyclone that caused extensive flooding and mudslides throughout Central America and Mexico in September 1993. The seventh named storm and third hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Gert originated as a tropical depression from a tropical wave over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on September 14. The next day, the cyclone briefly attained tropical storm strength before moving ashore in Nicaragua and proceeding through Honduras. It reorganized into a tropical storm over the Gulf of Honduras on September 17, but weakened back to a depression upon crossing the Yucatán Peninsula. Once over the warm waters of the Bay of Campeche, Gert quickly strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane by September 20. The hurricane made a final landfall on the Gulf Coast of Mexico near Tuxpan, Veracruz, with peak winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). The rugged terrain disrupted the cyclone's structure; Gert entered the Pacific Ocean as a depression near the state of Nayarit on September 21, where it briefly redeveloped a few strong thunderstorms before dissipating at sea five days later.
Gert's broad wind circulation produced widespread and heavy rainfall across Central America through September 15–17. Combined with saturated soil following Tropical Storm Bret's passage a month earlier, the rain triggered widespread floods and mudslides that isolated thousands of people across numerous communities. In Costa Rica, blustery weather destroyed a national park and led to significant losses in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Much of the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua and Honduras endured overflowing rivers, engulfing cities, villages, and crops with mud and water. Gert's winds were at their strongest upon landfall in Mexico, yet the worst effects in the country were also due to freshwater flooding after an extreme rainfall event in the Huasteca region resulted in water accumulations as high as 31.41 inches (798 mm). An increasing number of major rivers burst their banks over a period of several days, fully submerging extensive areas of land around the Pánuco basin. Tens of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate as raging floodwaters demolished scores of structures in what was described as the region's worst disaster in 40 years.
In Gert's wake, the road networks across the affected countries remained severely disrupted for extended periods of time, hampering rescue missions and relief efforts in badly flooded regions. National governments and emergency workers opened shelters and distributed food for the thousands that had lost their homes and sources of income in the storm. Throughout Central America and Mexico, Gert claimed the lives of 116 people and left 16 others missing. The disaster left swaths of private property, infrastructure, and farmland in complete ruins, amounting to damage costs of more than $170 million (1993 USD). Despite the excessive damage and catastrophic loss of life caused by the storm, the name Gert was not retired following the season, and was used again in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.
HurricaneGert was a large tropical cyclone that caused extensive flooding and mudslides throughout Central America and Mexico in September 1993. The seventh...
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longer identifiable. Hurricane Floyd was a Category 3 hurricane that grazed Bermuda, but no damage was reported. HurricaneGert formed September 8, strengthened...
were Hurricane Cindy, Tropical Storm Emily, and Tropical Depression Twelve. Localized or otherwise minor damage occurred from Hurricanes Bret, Gert, and...
moving out to sea. The most destructive named storm of the season was HurricaneGert, a tropical cyclone that devastated several countries in Central America...
Dominican Republic, before intensifying into a Category 4 hurricane in the western Atlantic. Gert became a remnant low on August 22, but regenerated into...
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two most impactful systems of the season were Tropical Storm Bret and HurricaneGert; more than 300 people were killed by the combined effects of both storms...
(1993 USD) in damage. September 15, 1993 – HurricaneGert caused heavy damage in much of the nation. Although Gert's center remained off the coast of Costa...
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"Hurricane Danielle Preliminary Report" (PDF). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved October 6, 2015. Miles Lawrence (July 22, 2000). "HurricaneGert Preliminary...
September 17) – HurricaneGert weakens to a Category 3 hurricane. September 19 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) – HurricaneGert re-strengthens to a Category 4 hurricane. 06:00 UTC...
tornadoes around the Tri-State Area. August 18, 2017: The remnants of HurricaneGert cause flash flooding on Long Island. September 19–20, 2017: Tropical...
Depression Gert of the Atlantic basin is redesignated as Tropical Depression Fourteen-E.) – Tropical Depression Gert of the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season...
same areas impacted by Hurricane Emily just days prior, and quickly dissipated over high terrain at the end of that day. Gert dropped heavy rainfall,...
David (September 4, 2023). Remnants Of Gert Discussion Number 27 (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved September 4, 2023. Sheerr...
path to Nate's HurricaneGert (1993) – Produced widespread flooding through Central America before striking Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane Tropical Storm...
Category 4 hurricanes are tropical cyclones that reach Category 4 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Category 4 hurricanes that later attained Category 5...
in Washington, D.C. after signing a peace accord. September 15–21 – HurricaneGert crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through Central America...
years due to a strike by the MLB Players Association. September 15–21 – HurricaneGert crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through Central America...
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