The 1988 Atlantic hurricane season was a moderately active season that
proved costly and deadly, with 15 tropical cyclones directly affecting
land. The first cyclone to attain tropical storm status was Alberto on
August 8; the final storm of the year, Tropical Storm Keith, became
extratropical on November 24. The season produced 19 tropical
depressions, including 12 tropical storms. There were five hurricanes,
including three major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher on the
Saffir–Simpson scale). Hurricane Gilbert (pictured) was at the time
the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. It tracked through the
Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and caused devastation in Mexico
and many island nations, particularly Jamaica. Its passage caused damage
valued at US$2.98 billion and more than 300 deaths, mostly in Mexico.
Hurricane Joan, striking Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, caused
damage valued at about $1.87 billion and more than 200 deaths.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1431:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in
Rouen, France, after being convicted of heresy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
1536:
Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, became Queen of England
by marrying King Henry VIII.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Seymour>
1815:
The East Indiaman ship Arniston was wrecked during a storm at
Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, present-day South Africa, with the
loss of 372 lives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arniston_(East_Indiaman)>
1948:
A dike holding the Columbia River broke, causing a flood that
destroyed Vanport, Oregon, U.S., only five years after the city was
built.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanport,_Oregon>
1998:
A 6.5 Mw earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, killing at
least 4,000 people, destroying more than 30 villages, and leaving 45,000
people homeless in the Afghan provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1998_Afghanistan_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
geofence:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/geofence>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The freedom of all is essential to my freedom.
--Mikhail Bakunin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin>