Hurricane Mitch near its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds at 180 mph (285 km/hr)

Hurricane Mitch near its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds at 180 mph (285 km/hr). A few days later after making landfall in Central America nearly 11,000 people were confirmed dead and almost as many reported missing making Mitch the second-deadliest hurricane on record, only surpassed by the Great Hurricane of 1780.

Photo Date: 1998 October 26