Santa Cruz del Sur

Geography

The municipality is divided into the barrios of Buenaventura, Doce Leguas, El Junco, Gonzalo de Quesada, Guaicanamar, Guayabal, La Calzada, Playa Bonita, San Pedro and Yaguabo.

History

The city has a special place in history due to its total destruction by the storm surge during the catastrophic hurricane of 1932 beginning late on November 8, 1932. In a few hours, between dawn and midmorning of November 9, the city disappeared under the sea, and more than 3,000 of its inhabitants drowned or were crushed by flying debris carried by winds in excess of 135 mph (215 km/h). Why a select number of survivors escaped the storm, and why the town was not evacuated prior to landfall, persist as questions. The hurricane was rumored to be destined for landfall far east of Santa Cruz, and when notification arrived about the town's peril, landfall was imminent. The last departing trains for evacuation failed to depart due to the storm surge. Fishermen of Santa Cruz were said to have predicted the event, apparently suspecting that "something wrong was brewing in the atmosphere." Survivors provided horrifying testimonies in the wake of a storm that literally drowned people in their homes. Hurricane Paloma also made landfall there 76 years later on the same night in 2008 with 100 mph (160 km/h) winds.

Demographics

In 2004, the municipality of Santa Cruz del Sur had a population of 51,335. With a total area of 1,122 km² (433 sq mi), it has a population density of 45.8/km² (119/sq mi) In 2007 the town of Santa Cruz del Sur had 16,600 residents.