Hurricane Hattie - Definition

Hurricane Hattie was a powerful hurricane that hit Central America on Halloween, 1961. It swept across the Caribbean and came ashore in the town of Belize City, British Honduras (now Belize), on October 31. It was a Category 5 hurricane at landfall.

Hattie destroyed parts of British Honduras, and killed an estimated 400 people. In the days after that storm, throngs of survivors numbering in the thousands roamed the streets for days digging about in the crumbled ruins in search of any kind of food.

Violence also broke out in the aftermath of the storm, causing The British frigate, H.M.S. Troubridge, to land 125 officers and men to aid colony police in halting widespread looting and pillaging. Authorities hanged four looters in the center of town as an example and warning.

Hattie destroyed Belize City and forced the government to relocate to a new capital further inland to its present location in Belmopan. Also, some permament towns, such as Hattieville were formed from temporary shelters built for those made homeless by the hurricane.

See Also

• List of notable tropical cyclones