Hurricane Debby was the first hurricane to strike the Mexican state of Veracruz since Hurricane Anna in 1956. The eighth tropical cyclone, fourth named storm, and the first hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Debby developed from a tropical wave off the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on August 31. The system slowly intensified as it tracked west-northwestward toward Mexico, eventually reaching tropical storm status on September 2. Thereafter, Debby began to rapidly strengthen, and the storm was upgraded to a hurricane later that day. After attaining peak winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), Debby made landfall near Tuxpan, Veracruz, in Mexico early on September 3. The hurricane quickly weakened inland, but managed to reach the eastern Pacific on September 5. Debby became Tropical Depression Seventeen-E, which moved northwest but remained poorly organized due to wind shear and dissipated on September 8. Heavy rainfall caused flooding in the state of Veracruz. Thousands of people were forced from their homes as rivers rose, including upwards of 30,000 fleeing for shelter after the Tuxpan River exceeded its bank. About 8,000 residents of the city of Álamo were rendered homeless. Flooding in Poza Rica forced the rescue of dozens of people from their cars and homes. Several homes in the city were swept away, while debris such as tree branches and trash blocked water runoff. Water, mudslides, and rocks blocked numerous roads in the area. In combination with Hurricane Kristy in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 50,000 people were left homeless in Mexico. At least 20 fatalities were attributed to Debby. Meteorological history A relatively strong tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the northwest coast of Africa on August 15. Moving westward, the wave split while well east of the Lesser Antilles, with a portion developing into Tropical Depression Seven on August 21, which eventually strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris. The remaining portion of the wave continued westward and reached the Caribbean Sea as a disorganized center of showers. During the night of August 29, some cloud banding developed, followed by the formation of a low-level center over the Yucatán Peninsula on August 30. Shortly after entering the Bay of Campeche on August 31, the system was given a T1.5 rating on the Dvorak scale, based on appearance on satellite imagery. As a result, the wave developed into Tropical Depression Eight at 18:00 UTC on August 31. Cloud banding and