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Hurricane Keith was a powerful tropical cyclone that formed in September 2000, it caused extensive damage in Central America, especially in Mexico and Belize. It was the fifteenth tropical cyclone, eleventh named storm, and seventh hurricane of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. Keith developed as a tropical depression from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on September 28. The depression gradually strengthened, and became Tropical Storm Keith on the following day. As the storm tracked westward, it continued to intensify and was upgraded to a hurricane on September 30. Shortly thereafter, Keith began to Rapid deepening, and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane less than 24 hours later. Keith then began to meander erratically offshore of Belize, which significantly weakened the storm due to land interaction. By late on October 2, Keith made landfall in Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, Belize as a minimal hurricane. It quickly weakened to a tropical storm, before another landfall occurred near Belize City early on the following day. While moving inland over the Yucatán Peninsula, Keith weakened further, and was downgraded to a tropical depression before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico on October 4. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, Keith began to re-strengthen and was upgraded to a tropical storm later that day, and a hurricane on the following day. By late on October 5, Keith made its third and final landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico as a moderately strong Category 1 hurricane. The storm quickly weakened inland and dissipated as a tropical cyclone by 24 hours after landfall.
Keith brought heavy rainfall to several countries in Central America, which resulted in extensive flooding, especially in Belize and Mexico. In Guatemala, the storm flooded 10 towns, and caused one fatality. Similarly, one fatality also occurred in El Salvador, and at least 300 people were affected by flooding in that country. Thirteen communities in Nicaragua were completely isolated after Keith made roads impassable. Twelve deaths were reported in Nicaragua, all of which were flood-related. Five people were presumed dead in Honduras after an aircraft disappeared near Roatán; one other fatality occurred due to flooding. The storm brought torrential rainfall to Belize, with many areas reporting at least of rain, while highest reported amount of precipitation was greater than . In Belize, a village reported that only 12 houses remained, while elsewhere in the country, at least 60 homes were destroyed or damaged; several houses in Belize City suffered minor roof damage. At least 19 people were killed in Belize and damages totaled to $280 million (2000 USD). Heavy rainfall also occurred in Mexico, especially in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Flooding from Keith caused several mudslides and a few rivers reached historic levels. Throughout Mexico, at least 460 houses were damaged or destroyed and other losses in infrastructure occurred. In addition, one person drowned due to heavy rainfall. Damages incurred in associated with Keith in Mexico totaled to approximately $365.9 million (2000 MXN, $38.7 million 2000 USD). Overall, Keith was responsible for 68 deaths and $319 million (2000 USD) in damage.
By the time Keith became a tropical storm, it was beginning to undergo rapid deepening, fueled by warm waters, low wind shear, and an organizing cloud pattern. There initially was uncertainty in the storm's future movement, due to a ridge in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical cyclone prediction models differed on their assessments; three models anticipated a turn to the northeast toward Florida due to a trough, while others predicted a continued slow motion to the west-northwest, eventually reaching the Bay of Campeche. After continued strengthening, Keith became a hurricane on September 30, just 18 hours after becoming a tropical storm, and making it the seventh such storm of that intensity of the season. That day, an eye began developing as the structure became much better organized. In a 13‑hour period beginning at 1808 UTC on September 30, Keith underwent explosive deepening, as its barometric pressure dropped at a rate of nearly per hour. The NHC noted that Keith experienced conditions "ideal for strengthening", with the exception of the approaching land interaction with the Yucatán Peninsula. The hurricane slowed until stalling offshore eastern Belize, caused by the ridge to the north and the precursor to Tropical Storm Leslie forming over Cuba. By early on October 1, Keith had developed a well-defined eye about in diameter, with what the NHC described as a "spectacular appearance." Later that day, Hurricane Hunters estimated a minimum pressure of and deployed a dropsonde that observed peak winds of . Based on the data, the NHC estimated that Keith attained peak winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) at 0700 UTC on October 1, while just offshore eastern Belize. This made it a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Shortly after Keith reached peak intensity, the eye had moved over portions of Belize, causing it to lose definition. Outflow became restricted, and the developing disturbance to the northeast increased wind shear. As a result, Keith began to weaken steadily on October 1. While remaining nearly stationary, Keith made a landfall on Ambergris Caye late on October 2 as a minimal hurricane. Shortly thereafter, Keith weakened into a tropical storm, and its convection became limited to the southeastern quadrant. At 0300 UTC, the storm made its second landfall about north of Belize City, and within nine hours weakened into a tropical depression. The building ridge to the north caused the system to accelerate more to the west-northwest across the Yucatán peninsula. Early on October 4, Keith emerged into the Bay of Campeche, where favorable conditions allowed convection to quickly redevelop. Later that day, it re-intensified into a tropical storm, with improved outflow and convective organization. On October 5, the Hurricane Hunters reported a circular eye had reformed along with winds supporting an upgrade to hurricane status. Keith intensified further that day, until it made its final landfall north of Tampico with winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). It rapidly weakened over the high terrain of northeastern Mexico, dissipating late on October 6.
On October 2, the government of Belize declared a state of emergency and activated the entire Belize Defence Force due to the storm's threat. The airport in Belize City was closed during Keith's passage, limiting transportation from the country's mainland to its offshore islands. In Corozal Town, authorities evacuated the entire city of 10,000 people to numerous shelters in Orange Walk. Officials were also ordered evacuations for Belize City, setting up shelters in Belmopan. Overall, about 25,000 people evacuate, or about 10% of Belize's population. Three hospitals were evacuated in the country. In a post-storm assessment, residents on the offshore islands acknowledged they were unprepared for the storm and did not anticipate such intensity.
In Quintana Roo, 5,000 people from Chetumal and surrounding low-lying areas were forced to evacuate to 30 shelters. Offshore along a coral reef, about 50 fishermen stayed on a coral reef during the storm. In the Bay of Campeche, Pemex evacuated about 6,300 workers from its offshore oil platforms. Officials in Yucatán and Veracruz declared states of emergency. When Keith reached the Gulf of Mexico and began re-intensifying, a hurricane warning was issued from Tuxpan to Matamoros in northeastern Mexico, with a tropical storm watch issued northward to Port Mansfield, Texas. About 3,000 residents in Tamaulipas evacuated to 250 shelters, and in neighboring Veracruz, about 175 people left their houses before the storm struck. The threat of Hurricane Keith caused Mexican authorities to close most ports along the gulf coast, and many schools in the area were closed.
| +Deaths by region | ||
| Because of differing sources, totals may not match. | ||
The strong winds destroyed 130 houses in Belize. Two hotel roofs were wrecked, and the winds knocked down trees and power lines. Widespread areas of Belize lost power and telephone service, including Belize City. There, the heavy rainfall flooded streets, reaching deep. Twenty homes were damaged to some degree in the capital, while many more suffered minor roof damage. The rains flooded the first floor of the primary hospital in the city, causing severe damage. Nationwide, 11 health facilities were damaged. Elsewhere in the country, the rains increased levels along rivers, including the Belize River, Rio Hondo, and New River. The Belize River rose for several days after the storm, reaching record levels of 21 ft (6.6 m) in width, which isolated 15 villages. Flooding covered Northern Highway and Western Highway as well as the primary bridge from Belmopan to the rest of Cayo District. Residual floodwaters persisted due to the low-lying land of the country and poor drainage. Floods contaminated water supply in the northern four districts, causing an Escherichia coli outbreak and food poisoning. In Belize, Corozal, and Orange Walk districts, about 30% of the houses were severely damaged by flooding.
Damage was heaviest in the northern offshore islands and in the northern portion of the mainland. On the offshore islands, downed trees and power lines blocked most roads. In Caye Caulker and San Pedro, Keith damaged the roofs of about 90% of houses and damaged or destroyed 676 houses, leaving 3,279 people homeless. About 50% of the houses in Caye Caulker were destroyed, In San Pedro, about 30% of houses, or at least 50, were wrecked. On Ambergris Caye, four airplanes were destroyed. At Turneffe Atoll, about 35% of the landmass was affected, with many trees in that section uprooted and numerous tree branches snapped.
Five individuals died in maritime accidents involving at least one catamaran. There was an accident involving a bus carrying evacuees, killing four people on board. Three people died on the offshore Ambergris Caye. Overall, 19 people perished in the country. Several injuries, mainly from flying debris, were reported in San Pedro, and there were 142 people who were injured in the storm. Throughout the country, approximately 3,279 homes were either damaged or destroyed. The damage total from Keith was initially estimated at $200 million, about half of which was to tourism facilities; the remainder was roughly split between crop and infrastructure damage. About 75% of the crops in the country were damaged, including much of the corn harvest that was expected to begin in October. The damage total was later estimated at $280 million, most of it on the offshore Ambergris Cay and Caye Caulker.
| + Damage totals in Mexico in thousands of , year 2000, unadjusted for inflation |
| 64,436 |
| 115,600 |
| 117,850 |
| 42,483 |
| 25,569 |
When Keith made its final landfall, Tampico reported tropical storm force winds, with gusts to . The winds damaged billboards and some trees in the city, and elsewhere along the coast, Keith knocked down trees and power lines. About 200,000 people in northeastern Mexico lost power, and 100,000 people were left without water. About 400 houses were damaged in Veracruz, and many roads and bridges were destroyed. Heavy rainfall occurred in the interior of northeastern Mexico, peaking at in González, Tamaulipas. In a reporting station in the municipality of Gómez Farías, the pluviometer reported a 24-hour rain total of , and a storm total of , which broke the precipitation record for that location, which counted with 35 years of data. This rain also caused rivers to reach record levels, as the Sabinas River rose on October 6, to a new historical peak, and the Guayalejo River rose , slightly under the 1976 record. This rainfall caused the Las Ánimas dam to catch of water between October 5 and October 17; however, some of this water had to be released, as the upstream face of the dam was damaged by debris, and had to be repaired. Overall, the storm produced $117.8 million in damage (2000 MXN, $12.4 million 2000 USD) in the state.
In Nuevo León, the remnants of Keith interacted with a cold front to produce heavy rainfall, reaching in Sabinas. The average precipitation in the state was , and the deluge caused causing mudslides in several cities, including San Pedro, Guadalupe and Escobedo. High rainfall also caused flash flood in mountainous areas near Monterrey, forming swift river currents that rose up to 9,000 ft³/s (250 m³/s), and dragged 130 people into local rivers; however, all were rescued. The rivers also dragged 30 vehicles, all of which were moderate to total losses. The storm runoff caused the El Cuchillo dam to receive of water daily, and the La Boca dam to receive per hour. About 13,000 residents lost power. About 5,000 people were forced evacuated from several municipalities in the state, including 2,465 from Monterrey and 1,900 from rural areas, at a cost of $400,000 (2000 MXN). The total damages in the state rose to $115.6 million (2000 Mexican peso, US$12.2 million in year 2000), with the damage to urban infrastructure being the most expensive portion of the damage, with $44.2 million (2000 MXN, US$4.6 million in 2000) used to repair damage in eight municipalities; in particular, San Pedro Garza García received approximately three quarters of the infrastructure damage, with $30.8 million (2000 MXN, $3.3 million 2000 USD). Additionally, about 460 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 300 families had to be relocated to safer areas.
In other states, damage was lighter, but still significant. In Sonora, total damages rose to $64.4 million (2000 MXN, $6.8 million 2000 USD); in Chiapas, $25.6 million (2000 MXN, $2.7 million 2000 USD) of property damage were caused by the storm. This brings up the total damage in Mexico to $365.9 million (2000 MXN, $38.7 million 2000 USD). In Tabasco, flooding damaged 7,896 houses. Approximately 24,000 residents in the state were impacted by flooding. At the capital city of Villahermosa, large rivers in the area overflowed, flooding some streets. However, dikes and sandbags along the banks of the rivers prevented further flooding. Overall, about 46,000 people had to evacuate Mexico due to the storm and its flooding. There was one fatality when a man in Tampico was electrocuted by a downed power line. In Xicoténcatl, Tamaulipas, a swollen river killed a family of six when their house was flooded. Overall, Keith killed 23 people in Mexico – 13 in Veracruz, 4 in Puebla, and 6 in Tamaulipas. There were six indirect deaths when a plane crashed while attempting to land in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.
In Nicaragua, floods from the storm forced 3,962 people to evacuate their houses to 57 shelters, many of which were schools. Floods affected 11 of the 17 Departments of Nicaragua, which began receding on October 5 as Keith exited the region. The floods caused several landslides and covered roads, which isolated communities. Keith damaged 436 houses in the country and destroyed another 160. There were 12 fatalities due to the storm in Nicaragua, one of whom a boy who was swept away by a fast moving flooded river northeast of Managua, while another death occurred after a man drowned in Lake Managua. A man in the western portions of the country died after stepping on a power lines, which had fallen due to strong winds. Fifty communities were isolated, with at least thirteen of them due to impassable roads. Several neighborhoods in Corinto flooded, forcing the Civil Defense to evacuate 9 families. One house collapsed in Los Ángeles, though its ten occupants escaped without injury. After rainfall lashed in Villanueva, Chinandega, for six days, the resultant flooding forced 300 families evacuated, while there was significant losses the corn, beans and plantains crops. An additional 20 families left their homes due to flooding in Poneloya. About 15 families in the port city of Puerto Sandino were evacuated after the El Contrabando river overflowed. Another 18 homes were flooded in the region of Salinas Grandes. About 52 fled Troilo after at least 11 homes flooded.
In the immediate aftermath, officials enacted a curfew for Belize City, Caye Caulker and San Pedro to curtail looting, and the latter two areas were declared disaster areas. The entirety of the northern three districts (out of six total) were also declared disaster areas. There were initial difficulties in determining the needs in the affected residents, due to cut communications. The government sent planes with emergency supplies to the most affected offshore islands. Several emergency teams were sent to Caye Caulker and San Pedro as soon as weather conditions permitted it. Widespread road repairs also began almost immediately after Keith's occurrence. The Belize International Airport was back online by the morning of October 4, only a single day after the tropical cyclone passed through the area. By that time, boat service was re-instated with the most affected areas to pick up stranded tourists. Workers quickly restored power and water in Belize City. In the days after the storm struck, residual flooding sparked fears for the spread of disease. In Orange Walk and Cayo District, residents were advised to stay indoors to avoid bites from poisonous snakes.
In Nicaragua, the United States ambassador declared a disaster, which prompted various United Nations departments to provide $25,000 to the country.
Due to the hurricane's high impact, the name Keith was retired by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2001 and it will never again be used for a North Atlantic tropical cyclone. The name was replaced with Kirk for the 2006 season.
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