On the satellite pictures it resembled a living creature, angrily swirling and pulsing, a one-eyed monster of awesome dimensions. In a vortex of turbulent weather spanning 450 miles, the whirling body of the hurricane seemed to have a mind and will of its own as it marched across the Caribbean, devastating almost everything in its path.
Hurricane Gilbert uprooted not only trees but lives. It chewed across the length of Jamaica, leaving 500,000 people homeless, and virtually destroying the island's economy. It slammed into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, shattering the glassy facades of tourist hotels and destroying the homes of 30,000 residents....