Hurricane Melissa Was Not the 'Storm of the Century'

Nor are such storms increasing in frequency, whatever the BBC may tell you

The media called it the Storm of the Century.

Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica last week, was certainly catastrophic with the death toll at the time of writing standing at 28 in the country. And, based on atmospheric pressure, it was the most intense Atlantic hurricane since Wilma in 2005. But Storm of the Century it most certainly was not.

Sadly, Jamaica has a long history of such hurricanes. One killed an estimated 400 people there in 1722. Hurricane Charlie in 1951 cost another 152 lives. The Greater Antilles hurricane of 1909 killed an estimated 4,000 across the Caribbean, notably in Haiti, but dumped an incredible 135 inches of rain on Jamaica. And so the list goes on.