The effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America
in September 2004 included 44 deaths and over $1 billion in damage,
primarily in Grenada (damage pictured) where it was considered the worst
hurricane in nearly 50 years. Hurricane Ivan developed from a tropical
wave on September 2 and rapidly intensified to become a major
hurricane, passing through the southern Lesser Antilles on September 7
with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). At the time, its tropical storm
force winds extended outward up to 160 miles (260 km) with hurricane
force winds outward to 70 miles (110 km). The northern portion of the
eye passed over Grenada, killing 39 people and causing the worst damage
in the region: the damage total of $1.1 billion represented 200% of its
GDP. The hurricane damaged more than 14,000 homes in Grenada; 30% of
the houses were destroyed, leaving about 18,000 people homeless. The
United States Agency for International Development, European Commission
Humanitarian Aid Office and others helped with reconstruction work.
Moderate damage and at least three fatalites were reported in northern
Venezuela, and one person died each in Trinidad and Barbados. The name
Ivan was later retired.
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Ivan_in_the_Lesser_Antilles_and_South_America>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1833:
Noongar warrior Yagan, wanted for leading attacks on white
colonists in Western Australia, was killed, becoming a symbol of the
unjust and sometimes brutal treatment of the indigenous peoples of
Australia by colonial settlers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagan>
1921:
Former President of the United States William Howard Taft was
sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, making him the only
person to ever hold both positions.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft>
1943:
In a massive ethnic cleansing operation, units of the Ukrainian
Insurgent Army attacked various Polish villages in the Volhynia region
of present-day Ukraine, killing the Polish civilians and burning those
settlements to the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia_and_Eastern_Galicia>
1991:
Shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International
Airport, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 caught fire in mid-
flight and crashed, killing all 261 occupants on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_Airways_Flight_2120>
2011:
An explosion at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base killed 12
people, including the head of the Cyprus Navy, making it the worst
peacetime military accident in Cypriot history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelos_Florakis_Naval_Base_explosion>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gaggle:
1. A group of geese when they are on the ground or on the water.
2. Any group or gathering of related things; bunch.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gaggle>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
--E. B. White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>