Should they be called Hurricanes in the Atlantic ocean, Typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, or Cyclones in the Indian Ocean, they all begin life in the same manner. They begin as small areas of low pressure over warm oceans. The surface temperature needs to be over 80F for them to form, so they originate in a band extending up to 30deg north or south of the equator. The moist air that rises from the oceans in these conditions, condenses as it cools releasing great amounts of heat. This mixture of heat and condensed moisture creates clusters of thunderstorms. Mostly these produce a lot of noise and rain, but not much else. However, given the right atmospheric conditions, combined with the Earth's rotation, these individual storms in the cluster begin to merge and rotate. When this happens the pressure in the centre of the cyclone plunges, producing a partial vacuum into which more warm moist air is sucked. As this warm moist air rises, it condenses creating yet more heat, so fuelling the cycle. The low pressure 'eye' of the storm pulls the rotating air in tighter, causing the wind speeds to accelerate up to 180 miles per hour. A hurricane (or whatever) has been born.

Hurricane Mitch grew to become the Atlantic basin's fourth strongest hurricane ever with sustained winds of 180 mph October 26 into early October 27, 1998. It was the strongest storm in the western Caribbean since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Mitch stalled off the coast of Honduras from late on Oct. 27 until the evening of Oct. 29 before moving slowly inland. As the storm's winds weakened it continued dumping heavy rain on Central America, causing floods and mudslides that had been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths by Nov. 2. On Nov. 3, Mitch's ghostly remains entered the southern Gulf of Mexico and warm waters rejuvenated the system into a tropical storm. Mitch then barreled through southern Florida early Nov. 5 before finally becoming extratropical at 4 p.m. EST, Nov. 5.

The UN World Food Programme has estimated that the destruction and damage caused in Central America by Hurricane Mitch will set back development in the region by 20 years.

Heavy rains caused serious flooding in the north of the country, forcing many from their homes. But the worst was yet to come. Mudslides claimed the lives of over 2,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. And as Mitch continued to wreak havoc, the Casita volcano erupted and a minor earthquake hit the city of Chinandega. 2,863 dead, 884 missing, 867,752 homeless.

Incessant rain flooded at least 50 rivers in Honduras, knocking out bridges and roads and inundating many towns. The death toll here has been the highest in the region: more than 17,000 are dead or missing with tens of thousands fleeing their homes. President Carlos Flores declared a state of emergency over the entire territory on 30 October and later announced that at least 70 per cent of the country's crops had been destroyed. The government estimates that it will need $1bn to meet total reconstruction costs. 5,273 dead, 11,085 missing, 1,932,482 injured, 427,138 homeless, 33 destroyed, 75 damaged bridges.

The west of the country was the worst hit with many communities cut off and under water. Figures on 5 November said 370 people were dead or missing, with 500,000 forced to flee their homes. 239 dead, 135 missing.

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Nearly 200 people have died, including 11 Americans in a plane crash. 258 dead, 120 people missing. 77,000 evacuated, 28 bridges and 31 highways destroyed.

High winds and rain battered the country's beaches, with Cancun the hardest hit. Holidaymakers left in droves, and several thousand were evacuated. six dead.

Mitch continued to rage through the Carribean and floodwaters inundated towns in the northeast of Costa Rica. Around 3,500 people were evacuated from low-lying areas. 4 dead; 4 missing.

Most of Belize City's population was evacuated on 28 October as rains intensified. Security forces were deployed to prevent looting. . There was widespread crop damage and roads have been destroyed. Eleven dead or missing.

On 25 and 26 October in the British colony of the Cayman Islands, heavy rainfall caused flooding in parts and schools were closed.

Hurricane warnings were lifted for Jamaica and eastern Cuba as Tropical Storm Mitch moved west on 26 October, but heavy rain still battered Jamaica. Defence forces were put on alert as sheets of rain reduced visibility to a few yards. Flooding in Kingston forced churches to cancel Sunday services and several airlines stopped flights. Schooner Fantome with 31 crew aboard is missing off the Caribbean coast and searchers have reported finding debris from the vessel.

One death was reported as flood waters rose on 27 October.

By 27 October, Cuban authorities had evacuated 500 tourists and workers from islands off the south coast as heavy winds and high seas began to be felt.

Despite abating in the days before, Mitch regained strength over the Gulf of Mexico on 3 November, hitting southern Florida and gradually heading towards the western coast on 5 November.
Tornadoes and winds of up to 55mph (88kph) and knocked down trees and power lines in the Florida Keys region. Much of southern Florida was put under a tropical storm warning and shelters were opened in the Key West and Key Largo.

The Island of the Bahamas and Cuba had also issued tropical storm warnings.

2nd October 1963 - Flora was the second most deadly hurricane in the Atlantic region. Flora originated to the south of trinidad, roared across the Caribbean and then to Cuba. 7,000 people died.

14th August 1969 - Gusting to 200 mph, Camille tore through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama then moved to the Mid-Atlantic States releasing torrential rain falls. 225 people died (mainly in the Mississippi Delta region, who had ignored warnings) and damage amounting to $1.5 billion.

19th September 1974 - The aftermath of Hurricane Fifi, left 5,000 people dead and 60,000 homeless.

31st August 1979 - The Dominican Republic and Dominica itself were the worst hit areas by this hurricane, which left very little still standing, and killed 1,200 people.

Some coastal flooding.

Small craft break moorings.

Flooding up to six miles inland.

Major errosion of beaches.

Hurricane Mitch killed an estimated 24,000 people in Central America in 1998.The deadliest U.S. hurricane killed 8,000 people in Galveston, Texas, in 1900.