Hurricane Sandy 2012, Atlantic, United States

Sandy was the first direct hit by the eye of a hurricane on Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert 24 years ago. The storm hit Jamaica as a category 1 hurricane. Extensive damage was reported on the island. Trees and power lines were snapped and shanty houses were heavily damaged, both from the winds and flooding rains. More than 100 fishermen were stranded in outlying Pedro Cays off Jamaica's southern coast. Stones falling from a hillside crushed one man to death as he tried to get into his house in a rural village near Kingston. The country's sole electricity provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company, reported that 70 percent of its customers were without power. Looters shot and wounded a police official as he led a group of officers through Craig Town, a section of West Kingston. More than 1,000 people went to shelters, the Office of Disaster Preparedness said. Jamaican authorities closed the island's international airports, and police ordered 48-hour curfews in major towns to keep people off the streets and deter looting. Cruise ships changed their itineraries to avoid the storm, which made landfall the afternoon of October 24 near the capital, Kingston.
The day after the storm, government officials went on an aerial tour of the rural eastern areas of the island. Parliament member Daryl Vaz reported that most buildings had lost their roofs, in addition to widespread damage to banana crops. Approximately 70 percent of the island lost power because of Sandy, and schools in the Kingston area would likely remain closed for a week. Resorts in Montego Bay and Negril sustained no major damage, and cruise ship terminals reopened to vessels after a 24-hour suspension of services. Authorities warned that the extent of the damage is not clear, since some major roads remained impassable, and it would likely be weeks before life in most areas returned to normal.
• Cuba
Hurricane Sandy strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane before hitting Cuba. At least 55,000 people had been evacuated principally because of expected flooding from rains that could total up to 20 inches (500 mm) in some places and a storm surge the Cuban weather service said was already beginning along the southeastern coast around midnight EDT. Sandy made landfall just west of Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city, as a strong Category 2 hurricane, with the strong eastern eyewall passing directly over the city. The eye of the storm came ashore just west of the city with waves up to 29 feet (9 meters) and a six-foot (2 meter) storm surge that caused extensive coastal flooding.