Preparations and Impact
Residents were warned to anticipate tides 5 feet (1.5 m) above normal near the expected point of landfall. Later, the forecast was decreased to 3 feet (0.9 m) above normal and pertained to tides in the Mosquitoes Gulf and Chiriqui Lagoon. Since Martha was a relatively weak tropical cyclone, flash floods were emphasized as the greatest threat. The National Hurricane Center stated that rainfall could exceed 10 inches (254 mm). Additionally, Arnold Sugg of National Hurricane Center warned residents of gale force winds and heavy precipitation, advising people living between Bluefields, Nicaragua and Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panama to take precautions.
In Panama, the storm dropped at least 13 inches (330 mm) of precipitation, especially in the western portions of the country. As a result, at least half of agricultural land in Almirante, Bocas del Toro, was flooded, causing extensive crop damage. In Puerto Armuelles, Chiriquí, persistent rainfall led to street flooding and inundated other areas. Similar conditions were reported in Golfito, Costa Rica. The effects of Martha resulted in five deaths, all of which occurred in Costa Rica. The nation incurred flooding from heavy rainfall, which caused significant destruction. The capital city of San José received flooding. In all, damages were estimated near $30 million (1969 USD).
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Martha
Famous quotes containing the words preparations and/or impact:
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“One can describe a landscape in many different words and sentences, but one would not normally cut up a picture of a landscape and rearrange it in different patterns in order to describe it in different ways. Because a photograph is not composed of discrete units strung out in a linear row of meaningful pieces, we do not understand it by looking at one element after another in a set sequence. The photograph is understood in one act of seeing; it is perceived in a gestalt.”
—Joshua Meyrowitz, U.S. educator, media critic. “The Blurring of Public and Private Behaviors,” No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Oxford University Press (1985)