page_title: Hurricane Lenny
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Lenny / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: This image shows damage to a sidewalk in St. Croix after Hurricane Lenny in November of 1999.
context_page_description: Hurricane Lenny is the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record, behind the 1932 Cuba hurricane. It was the twelfth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and record-breaking fifth Category 4 hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Lenny formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea and maintained an unprecedented west-to-east track for its entire duration, which made it earn the nickname, "Wrong Way Lenny". It attained hurricane status south of Jamaica on November 15 and passed south of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico over the next few days. Lenny rapidly intensified over the northeastern Caribbean on November 17, attaining peak winds of 155 mph about 21 mi south of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, eventually dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean.
  Before moving through the Lesser Antilles, Lenny produced rough surf that killed two people in northern Colombia. Strong winds and rainfall resulted in heavy crop damage in southeastern Puerto Rico.
context_section_description: Following heavy damage to the coral reef around Curaçao, workers placed reef balls to assist in replenishing the damaged structure. In Puerto Rico, workers quickly responded to power and water outages. Similarly on Saint Croix, power systems were quickly restored. On November 23, U.S. President Bill Clinton declared the U.S. Virgin Islands a disaster area. This allocated federal funding for loans to public and private entities and provided 75 percent of the cost of debris removal. By December 10, nearly 3,000 residents had applied for assistance, mostly on St. Croix. In response, the federal government provided about $480,000 to the affected people. The United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance provided $185,000, mostly directed toward the United Nations Development Programme, for aid to other islands in the eastern Caribbean. Other agencies, including the Caribbean Development Bank, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, and the European Union, provided $1.1 million in assistance.
  In response to the damage on Saint Martin, officials in the Netherlands Antilles issued an appeal to the European Parliament for assistance from the international community. Due to their small population and area, the small islands of the eastern Caribbean required international funding to repair the damage from the hurricane and return to normal. In Antigua and Barbuda, officials worked quickly to repair roads and clean Barbuda's water system. However, 20,000 people in Antigua remained without water for a week after the hurricane, and the stagnant water caused an increase in mosquitoes. The government of Dominica provided 42 families with temporary shelters. With a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank, the government worked to complete a sea wall along a highway south of its capital Roseau. The Saint Lucian government provided housing to 70 families. In Grenada, workers repaired the road system to allow fuel transportation across the island and began to reclaim land near its airport to mitigate erosion. Regions in Antigua and Grenada were declared disaster areas. Across the eastern Caribbean, local Red Cross offices provided food and shelter to affected citizens. High damage to tourist areas caused a decrease in cruise lines. A damaged hotel in Nevis left 800 people unemployed due to its closure.
  Due to its effects, the name Lenny was retired by the World Meteorological Organization and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. The name was replaced with Lee in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
caption: Damage to the Frederiksted Pier in St. Croix
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