HURRICANES

IN THE
CARIBBEAN
Chadrick Bent K’Lan Hibbert Luke Lindo Shevon Litchmore
Camona Kerr Roxene Myers Kristyn Sewell Jeffery Wilson
 HURRICANES
• A hurricane is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical
oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and
heavy rain.

• Depending on the strength of the sustained winds, a hurricane may be

categorized on a scale of 1-5 (the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale).

• The hurricane season in the Caribbean runs from June 1 to November 30.
 CHARACTERISTICS
OF HURRICANES
HEAVY/
TORRENTIAL
STRONG WINDS RAINFALL
119km/h -
252km/h+

STORM SURGES
FORMATION
OF HURRICANES
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
CYCLE
RECOVERY MITIGATION

RESPONSE PREPAREDNESS
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
CYCLE

MITIGATIO PREPAREDN RESPONSE RECOVERY

N ESS
Actions taken to prevent or Planning, training, and Actions that take place in the Restoration efforts that
reduce the impact and educational activities for immediate aftermath of a occur alongside regular
consequences of disasters. events that cannot be disaster to limit further loss operations and activities
fully mitigated. of life, injuries, or damage to to return to a sense of
infrastructure. normalcy.
 HURRICANES
AS HAZARDS
• Hazards are defined as any occurrence or phenomenon that may cause injuries or loss of life, as well as
endangering property and infrastructure.

• Hurricanes possess attributes that make them hazardous. These attributes include:
⚬ strong, violent winds that can result in serious damage to infrastructure and property through
uprooted trees and downed poles, flooding due to storm surges, etc.
⚬ flooding may also occur due to extended periods of torrential rainfall (especially when an area has
poor drainage systems), causing damage to roads , buildings, and property.
⚬ landslides and mudslides are hazards that can occur due to the rainfall, resulting in blocked roadways
and damaged houses/buildings.
 FOCUS SYSTEMS

JAMAICA PUERTO RICO CUBA

HURRICANE IVAN, HURRICANE IRMA, HURRICANE IAN,
2004 2017 2021
HURRICANE IVAN

JAMAICA, 2004
 BACK
GROUND
• Began as a tropical depression off the West African
coast on September 2, 2004.

• The system continued its westward path through the

Caribbean, eventually reaching the vicinity of
Jamaica on September 10, 2004.

• Though initially predicted to pass over the island as

a category 5 hurricane, Ivan never made land fall
and was sustained at Category 4 status off the
southern coast of the island.
 BACK
GROUND
• Though the hurricane’s center did not pass over the
land, its effects were still felt island-wide.
• Sustained winds of over 200km/h resulted in storm
surges of up to 20 meters recorded on the west coast
(Rick’s Cafe, Negril) and between 2-8 meters on the
southeastern end of the island.
• Torrential rainfall (the highest total exceeding
700mm) resulted in extensive island-wide flooding,
mainly due to poor drainage and rivers overflowing
their banks.
 BACK
GROUND
• Hurricane Ivan affected roughly 370,000
Jamaicans.

• In its wake, there were 17 deaths and

18,000 people left homeless.

• The damage to infrastructure and housing

was insurmountable.
HURRICANE IVAN DAMAGE
 MITIGATION
• The cleaning of solid waste from drains and gullies was
conducted by the National Works Agency.
• Private sectors responsible for communications underwent
systematic changes to prevent a loss of communication such as
placing some of the telephone lines underground.
• Adverts regarding hurricane preparedness were increased
across the airwaves, especially during hurricane season.
• Hurricane/storm preparedness was introduced in the schools’
curriculums.
• ODPEM and the Red Cross also orchestrated skills training in
communities; the skills included first aid, contingency
planning, search and rescue, shelter management and the
formation of flood warning teams.
 PREPAREDNESS
• ODPEM urged citizens to stock up on necessities (tin food, first
aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, battery radio) and prepare
their houses (board up windows, store documents safely, elevate
furniture, secure roofs).
• On September 8 at 8:00 AM, the Meteorological Service
Division issued an Evacuation Order for all cays and banks.
• At 5:00 PM on Sept 8, the island was placed on a hurricane
watch, which later became a hurricane warning on September 9,
2004 at 8:00 AM.
• On Sept 10, evacuation warnings for communities along the
coast and low-lying areas were issued by the Prime Minister P.J.
Patterson. He also highlighted buildings such as churches and
schools as shelters.
• On Sept 10, the Governor General declared a period of public
emergency in the island and its territorial waters with immediate
effect.
 RESPONSE
• ODPEM, in association with other organizations, led
assessment teams to survey and analyze the state of the citizens
as well as infrastructural damage sustained throughout the
island.
• The Jamaican Red Cross also dispatched teams that provided
medical aid to injured persons. They were also outfitted with
care packages (containing food items and some medical
supplies) for displaced families and individuals.
• The National Water Commission distributed sanitary water
across the island through tanker trucks, as long as the roads
were passable/accessible.
 RECOVERY
• The National Water Commission made efforts to restore
operation to facilities that could run on standby generators as
well as systems that used gravity flow distribution. After
electricity and road access to the other facilities were restored,
the water supply was 97% restored within approx. 40 days after
the hurricane.
• For the transport sector, rehabilitation of roadways was
conducted by the National Works Agency to clear roads affected
by landslides, mudslides, and damage due to flooding. By
September 30, most major roads were restored to accommodate
at least single-lane traffic.
• Education prevailed, though a lot of schools had sustained great
damage, and some were still being used as shelters. The
Ministry of Education took actions to ensure students’ education
would proceed through initiatives like shift systems.
 RECOVERY
• Jamaica Public Service (JPS) began efforts to restore the
provision of electricity throughout the island, with emphasis
placed on essential buildings such as hospitals and water supply
plants. 38 days following the hurricane, only 5% of users were
still without service, mainly due to inaccessibility or being
under repair.
• To facilitate reconstruction in the health sector, more than
JMD$273 million was received from varying organizations,
both local and international, including the National Health Fund
(NHF), the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), and the Culture Health Art Sports and Education
(CHASE) Fund.
• The Indian government contributed a supply of pharmaceuticals
to the effort valued at JMD$12 million.
HURRICANE IRMA

PUERTO RICO, 2017

 BACK
GROUND
• Irma was a Category 5 hurricane when its eye
passed within 30 miles (48 kilometers) of the Puerto
Rican Island of Culebra on September 6, 2017.
• Peak wind gust speeds in the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico were over 120 miles per hour (mph)
(193 kilometers per hour.
• Over 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rainfall was
recorded
• Majority of the island was exposed to tropical storm
to hurricane force winds.
• Thousands of buildings were damaged and over a
million residents lost power.
HURRICANE IRMA DAMAGE
 MITIGATION
• Puerto Rico has a history of reacting to the impact of severe
previous hurricanes by adopting hazard mitigation techniques
to minimize future damage.

• Building codes established and improved in the past.

• Additional mitigation efforts beyond the building code

included major reconstruction efforts. This involved the
replacement of vulnerable buildings at existing sites as well as
removing damaged homes in highly flooded, seismic, and
landslide-prone sites and replacing them at new sites.
 MITIGATION
• For over 30 years the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)has been conducting studies and assessments of the
performance of the built environment.

• An additional step included the deployment of Mitigation

Assessment Teams (MATs) by the FEMA. This was done to
observe building performance and provide design and
construction guidance to improve disaster resistance of the
built environment.
 PREPAREDNESS
• A hurricane watch was issued for Puerto Rico at 3:00
PM on the 4th of September as the system developed.

• The Hurricane watch changed to a

hurricane warning at 3:00 am on
the 5th of September.

• Residents stocked up on bottled

water, flashlights, batteries,
generators, food and other items.
 RESPONSE
• ·By September 6, the U.S Federal
Emergency Management Agency had
deployed response teams in Puerto
Rico. Supplies including food rations,
medical supplies and blankets which
were placed in strategic locations on
the islands for distribution.
 RECOVERY
• FEMA launched a sector -based approach to recovery. The
sectors aim to include members with years of experience in
architecture, land use planning engineering, community,
planning economic development environmental policy, and
municipal management.
• As a part of the recovery efforts, state and local governments
collaborated in offering recovery funding to affected citizens
under the Individual Assistance Program via the Transitional
Sheltering Assistance (TSA) and Crisis Counselling Program
and Household program.
• Federal Funding was made available to the affected individuals.
Assistance included grants for temporary housing and home
repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses to
help them recover from the effects of the disaster.
HURRICANE IAN

CUBA, 2022
 BACK
GROUND
• On September 26, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall
as a category 4 hurricane in the Western region of
Cuba with sustained winds of more than 200km/h.

• The hurricane resulted in significant flooding and

storm surge as coastal waters got inland by 2 km and
flood waters reached a height of 1.5 m.

• This resulted in damage to urban infrastructure and

the homes of many of the country’s citizens. The
hurricane resulted in a large power outage, affecting
over 11 million citizens.
HURRICANE IAN DAMAGE
 MITIGATION
• Due to their experience with hurricanes and storms in the past,
the government is aware of the importance of informing and
educating their citizens about the hazards of hurricanes.
• Risk Reduction Management Centres designed to educate
citizens on the dates associated with hurricane season as well
as the necessary actions to be taken in case of environmental
risks associated with them.
• From an early age, Cubans are trained and prepared for the
occurrence o hurricanes
• People in schools and workplaces are constantly educated and
informed on the proper precautions to take in the case of a
hurricane.
 PREPAREDNESS
• The Instituto de Meteorología de la República de
Cuba (INSMET) issued a tropical cyclone
warning on September 24, 2022.
• On September 25, INSMET warned the nation of
potential coastal flooding and storm surge.
• Protection centers were prepared for possibly
affected families and citizens.
• The CRC (Cuban Red Cross) evacuated families
from their homes to safer locations before the
landfall of the hurricane to prevent the loss of
life.
 RESPONSE
• The CRC carried out damage
assessments to houses and residential
infrastructure.
• Assessments were conducted on the
access and sanitation of drinking and
running water and efforts were made to
source clean water.
 RECOVERY
• The United States provided $2 million in funding to
aid in the recovery efforts of Cuba as well as a relief
for those in need on the island.

• Efforts were being made to restore power in areas of

the island shortly after the disaster.

• Education authorities began to get classes back in

session despite schools being used as shelters.

• Construction materials had been provided to affected

families, resulting them easily being able to repair
homes
 REFERENCES
• CBS News (September 30, 2022) “Cubans suffer as power outage caused by Hurricane Ian drags on” CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-ian-cuba-suffers-as-power-outage-goes-on/
• The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2004), “ECLAC-Hurricane-Ivan-Economic-Impact-”
https://www.odpem.org.jm/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ECLAC-Hurricane-Ivan-Economic-Impact-Report_compressed.pd
f
• “Extremely dangerous” hurricane Irma barrels toward Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico. (2017, September 5). CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/puerto-rico-declares-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-hurricane-irma.htmlh
• Go-Jamaica (2008 September 11) “Remembering IVAN - September 10-12”
https://go-jamaica.com/blog/2008/09/11/remembering-ivan-september-10-12-2004/
• Guerra, J. (June 2010) “Cuba Risk Reduction Management Centres: Best Practises in Risk Reduction” UNDP Cuba
https://www.preventionweb.net/files/14963_crmicgrrcubabp2010en1.pdf
• Hurricanes Irma and María. (n.d.). Transparency Portal of COR3. Retrieved November 13, 2023, from
http://recovery.pr.gov/en/hurricanes
• Internet Geography (n.d.) Hurricane Irma Case Study. Retrieved November 13, 2023, from
https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/hurricane-irma-case-study/
 REFERENCES
• Monica, 1776 Main Street Santa & California 90401-3208. (n.d.). Hurricanes Irma and maria: Impact and aftermath.
Retrieved November 13, 2023, from
https://www.rand.org/hsrd/hsoac/projects/puerto-rico-recovery/hurricanes-irma-and-maria.html
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2004) “Hurricane Ivan Advisory Number 34” ReliefWeb
https://reliefweb.int/report/jamaica/hurricane-ivan-advisory-number-34
• Riley, G. (September 24, 2022) “Cuba issues tropical cyclone warning as Ian slowly strengthens” Our Today
https://our.today/cuba-issues-tropical-cyclone-warning-as-ian-slowly-strengthens
• Rivera, I., & Alvarez, L. (2017, September 6). Hurricane Irma, packing 185-m. P. H. Winds, makes landfall in Caribbean.
The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/us/hurricane-irma-a-category-5-hurricane-heads-for-puerto-rico.html
• Sullivan, K. (2004) “Ivan’s Rain Pounds Jamaica” The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/09/11/ivans-rains-pound-jamaica/cf74aa97-23cf-4a9b-b74c-ac34e
7e2ac84/
• TelSUR/MS(October 4, 2022) “Hurricane Damage Recovery Advances in Cuba”
• teleSURHD https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Hurricane-Damage-Recovery-Advances-in-Cuba-20221004-0012.html
• U.S Office of State (October 18, 2022) “U.S. Support for Hurricane Ian Recovery Efforts in Cuba” U.S Office of State
• https://www.state.gov/u-s-support-for-hurricane-ian-recovery-efforts-in-cuba/