During its existence, areas of the
Lesser Antilles, ABC islands, and Central America were affected by Janet. Electric power was later restored, allowing newspapers to publish information on the storm. Poorly constructed dwellings were blown apart by the strong winds. The destroyed buildings and trees blocked
highways, and the
Seawell Airport was forced to close. Heavy rains peaked at and a
storm surge of swept away low-lying houses along the coast. An estimated 2,000 people were left homeless due to the hurricane. and at least 57 people were killed. Houses were also unroofed, and
balconies of government offices in St. George's were torn off. All bridges in the island's interior regions collapsed, and spice crops sustained heavy damage. Three ships were also grounded in the local harbor. In The Carenage, the waterfront region of St. George's, debris was scattered and an
pier collapsed.
St. Vincent was mostly destroyed, and St. Lucia suffered significant coastal damage. Over $2.8 million in damages were estimated throughout the Grenadines. Hurricane Janet skirted the
ABC islands with strong winds as it passed to the north from September 24–25. In
Aruba, gusts peaked at , uprooting trees. However, damage outside of trees was primarily insignificant. In
Bonaire, piers were destroyed, and the island's coastal boulevard was damaged. Beach facilities at
Curaçao's Piscadera and Vaersen Bays suffered considerable damage. Quays along the harbor entrance were also damaged.
Snowcloud Five On September 26, the
hurricane hunter P2V-3W Neptune aircraft Snowcloud Five, led by U.S. Navy
Lieutenant Commander Grover B. Windham, was sent from
Guantánamo Bay to investigate Janet, which was at the time a Category 4 hurricane south of
Jamaica. Upon penetration of the hurricane's eyewall at an altitude of , a final transmission was received from the reconnaissance flight before it presumably crashed in the Caribbean Sea. Following the loss of the plane, an extensive
search and rescue operation took place over a large area of the Caribbean Sea, with 3,000 personnel involved with the search, returning no results.
Yucatán Peninsula As it approached the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet passed over the Swan Islands north of Honduras as a Category 5 hurricane on September 27. The hurricane caused rough seas, and strong winds uprooted trees and
antennas. After gusts exceeded an estimated , officials on the islands took shelter in a Navy
seismograph building. Though no deaths were reported, Janet destroyed almost all buildings on the islands. The U.S. Weather Bureau and
Civil Aeronautics Authority requested food and supplies for 82 people on the island after the storm passed.
Quintana Roo After passing the Swan Islands, Janet made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula between Corozal Town, British Honduras, and Chetumal, Mexico, at 1700 UTC on September 28. In
Xcalak,
Quintana Roo the strong winds from Janet flattened the port's infrastructure, and only one house remained intact after the storm's passage. 97 people were killed in Xcalak, constituting more than a third of the port's population. Chetumal, Mexico was devastated, with only four buildings left standing. Storm surge pushed water to a depth of , inland, despite the peninsula protecting the city from the open ocean. The death toll in Chetumal remains uncertain; 120 bodies were recovered in the city but it is unknown how many were ever found. In Quintana Roo, Hurricane Janet was estimated to have caused $40 million in damages and at least 500 deaths, the most of any region affected by Janet. In
Corozal Town, British Honduras, south of where Janet made landfall, 500 people were made homeless, and six people were killed. and communications were knocked out by the strong winds. Based on an average home cost of $2,000, it was estimated that property damage to homes in Corozal Town totaled $800,000. Farther south in
Belize City, winds peaked at , though no damage was reported. In British Honduras, the hurricane's effects were less deadly than in Quintana Roo, but in northern portions of the colony the storm killed 16 people and caused $5 million in damages. Along the coast, tides were reported to be above average. Farther north along the Texas coast, tides were above average, blocking beach roads near
Corpus Christi. Janet made its final landfall in the Mexican state of
Veracruz between the cities of
Nautla and
Veracruz as a Category 2 hurricane at 2200 UTC on September 29. In Nautla, communications were cut by strong winds from the hurricane. The strong winds also caused a relief plane to crash, causing five deaths. The floods contributed to a localized
typhoid fever and
dysentery outbreak, causing over 1,000 people to evacuate out of the city to prevent further spreading of the diseases. An additional 36,000 people were being cared for in concentration centers. Farther inland, as Janet dissipated over the mountainous central Mexico, the storm dropped torrential rainfall over the
Tamesí and
Pánuco River basins. In Tampico, the river flooded neighborhoods, forcing cables to be stretched along roads to prevent people from being swept away. Small boats were also sent to monitor streets. According to some sources, 800 people died from the floods, with thousands more being stranded in the city.
Tamazunchale was inundated by an overflowing
Moctezuma River. The rains caused a
landslide in
Colonia San Rafael, killing 12 people. Heavy rains also impacted
Guadalajara, which had previously not been affected by any tropical cyclones earlier in the year. In Maltarana,
Jalisco, the
Lerma and
Duero Rivers overflowed, forcing 800 people in the town to evacuate. Although there were no official damage or fatality estimates, ==Aftermath==