Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, October 22, 1998

Name: Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, October 22, 1998
Start: 1998-10-22T04:30
End: 1998-10-22T10:00
Location: Puerto Rico

October 22, 1998 · NWS SJU · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A slow moving tropical wave south of Puerto Rico produced widespread flash flooding across the southwest and south sections of Puerto Rico. Several low lying sectors, streets and neighbourhoods in Guanica, Cabo Rojo, Yauco, Ponce and Penuelas flooded due to these heavy rains.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SJU wrote it up.

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Mayaguez

When: October 22, 4:30 AM AST to 10:00 AM AST
Where: Mayaguez County, South Portion
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Flash Flood, Ponce

When: October 22, 4:30 AM AST to 10:00 AM AST
Where: Ponce County, Countywide
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Puerto Rico, October 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5670344, 5670345.