The Nation - News from Nov. 27, 1988

Cooperation among U.S., Latin and Caribbean officials--even those at odds politically--kept the loss of life to “probably one-tenth” of what it might have been during this year’s hurricane season, the nation’s chief hurricane forecaster said. The six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Wednesday, produced 11 named storms and six hurricanes, including the record-breaking Gilbert, and Tropical Storm Keith, which recently blew across Florida but caused little damage. This year, there have been 505 deaths recorded, but in the past, major hurricanes have killed thousands when they hit Latin and Caribbean nations, where many structures cannot withstand hurricane winds, said Bob Sheets, director of the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla. He cited the sharing of information with the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington during a recent storm to help that country order evacuations.