The Great Barbaos hurricane was an intense Category 4 hurricane that left cataclysmic damage across the Caribbean and Louisiana in 1831.

Meteorological history

The storm was first spotted when a captain from the boat Friends noticed a gale just near Grenada. The gale was more severe than any storm since the 1780 storm. The next morning, waves crashed in the nearby sea. A dark sky appeared the next morning, increasing.

Impact

During the storm, roofs of most buildings swayed against the walls, eventually settling in the ground. Trinidad was wholly destroyed, though ships in the Gulf of Paria escaped without damage. The storm also caused a boat to travel ashore. The storm caused ships to sink and killed 1,500 people and caused $7 million USD in damages. According to the Bridgetown Press, Barbados was "laid waste", that no sign of plants was present. The death toll was controversial, with the apparent death toll being much higher.