Storms - Hurricane Frances
Profile
Update: 24 June 2005
|
Event dates |
25 August - 8 September 2004 |
|
Area |
Grand Turk Islands, Bahamas, US (Florida) |
|
Fatalities |
38 |
|
Economic loss |
USD 10.0 bn |
|
Insured loss |
USD 5.4 bn |
Event description
Hurricane Frances formed in the Atlantic and reached hurricane strength on 26 August 2004. It moved slowly in a northwesterly direction, gaining strength to become a Category 4 hurricane. On 4 September 2004, Frances made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 2 hurricane, damaging many houses and resulting in two fatalities. Freeport Airport was partially submerged by heavy rain which caused widespread flooding (click to view map)
Surf pounds a mobile home park on the shore of the
Indian River at Jensen Beach, Fla. (© KEYSTONE)
In the early hours of 5 September 2004, Frances made its US landfall just north of Florida's Palm Beach, with sustained winds of about 170 km/h, while hurricane force winds (exceeding 119 km/h) were experienced in a 270 km wide corridor. Frances continued to move slowly (about 13 km/h) on its northwesterly course and affected some of the area already hit by Hurricane Charley. The massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the NASA Kennedy Center was also damaged again, sustaining what was described as the worst storm damage in the center's history. After spending nearly 24 hours over Florida, Hurricane Frances moved into the Gulf of Mexico, north of Tampa, heading towards the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and Alabama.
Indian River Drive north of Jensen Beach Causeway
in Jensen Beach, Fla. (© KEYSTONE)
Despite its exceptionally large size (twice the area of Germany), less damage occurred than had been anticipated because Frances tracked through sparsely populated areas. Its slow advance resulted in heavy precipitation (>30 cm) over Florida's central east coast. Some 6 million people had no power and many residential buildings were damaged. Frances shut down most of Florida on what would usually have been a busy Labor Day weekend.
Frances came ashore again, this time as a Tropical Storm on the northwestern Florida Panhandle and weakened quickly as it moved into Alabama and Georgia.
Economic loss
Total economic loss is estimated at USD 10.0 bn.
Insured loss
Insured loss is estimated at USD 5.4 bn.
Hurricane track
