Impact
| Region | Direct deaths | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Panama | 3 | Unknown |
| Costa Rica | 7 | $92 million |
| Jamaica | 3 | Unknown |
| Nicaragua | 3,800 | $1 billion |
| Honduras | 14,600 | $3.8 billion |
| Guatemala | 268 | $748 million |
| El Salvador | 240 | $400 million |
| Belize | 11 | $50,000 |
| Mexico | 9 | Unknown |
| United States | 2 | $40 million |
| Offshore | 31 | N/A |
| Total | 18,974 | $6 billion |
Hurricane Mitch was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since the Great Hurricane of 1780, displacing the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 as the second-deadliest on record. Nearly eleven thousand people were confirmed dead, and almost as many reported missing. Deaths were mostly from flooding and mudslides in Central America, where the slow-moving hurricane and then tropical storm dropped nearly 36 inches (900 mm) of rain. The flooding and mudslides damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of homes, with total damage amounting to over $5 billion (1998 USD, $6 billion 2006 USD), most of which was in Honduras and Nicaragua. Prior to Mitch, the deadliest hurricane in Central America was Hurricane Fifi in 1974, which killed an estimated 8,000–10,000.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Mitch
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