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> _______________________________ 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> _____________________________ 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> ___________________________ 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>