HURRICANE, an unusually violent wind-storm in the West Indies. The term, corresponding to the highest number (52) on the Beaufort Scale (q.v.), is now used to describe similar storms in other regions, except those of the East Indies and the Chinese seas, which are still known as "typhoons." Hurricane is the Carib word 1zuratan imported by the Portuguese explorers of the 15th century. The "hurricane deck" of a steamer is an upper deck which protects the one below.