Macroeconomic Modeling of Managing Hurricane Damage in the Caribbean: The Case of Jamaica

Subject Improving Caribbean economic outlook. Significance There is growing evidence from across the Caribbean that the business climate is improving. Property and tourist markets are doing well, driven by a strong US economy and increased investments from Asia. Domestic economic policy has become more effective, perhaps seen most clearly in Jamaica; supported by rising revenue streams from citizenship by investment programmes and oil production (in Guyana). Many governments have also navigated successfully the impacts of recent hurricane damage and high rates of crime. Impacts Despite significant improvements, underlying problems and geopolitical tensions remain. Continued dependence on tourism renders the region vulnerable to concerns such as the spread of coronavirus. Balancing the competing interests of Washington, Beijing and Caracas will challenge investment-hungry Caribbean states.

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Three years of ingrowth following catastrophic hurricane damage on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua: evidence in support of the direct regeneration hypothesis

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467400008956 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 465-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

John Vandermeer ◽

Maria Antonia Mallona ◽

Douglas Boucher ◽

Katherine Yih ◽

Ivette Perfecto

Keyword(s):

Direct Regeneration ◽

Caribbean Coast ◽

Hurricane Damage ◽

The Caribbean

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Los Roques and Las Aves Archipelagos, Venezuela: A Marine Ecological and Conservation Reconnaissance of Two Little-Known Southeastern Caribbean Oceanic Archipelagos

Atoll Research Bulletin ◽

10.5479/si.0077-5630.622 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Adolphe O. Debrot ◽

Anaurora Yranzo ◽

Dulce Arocha

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Western Atlantic ◽

Hurricane Damage ◽

Marine Park ◽

Diverse Area ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Biological Inventory ◽

Oceanic Archipelagos

The Los Roques and Las Aves oceanic coral reef archipelagos of Venezuela lie in a biogeographically unique and biologically diverse area of the Caribbean and possess extensive coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and shallow macroalgae meadows. The geographic location of these archipelagos safeguards them from most Western Atlantic hurricane damage as well as the most severe Caribbean coral bleaching episodes. While the Aves islands remain uninhabited and are an area of low accessibility, Los Roques has been a managed national park since 1972. We here present an updated synthesis of recent research for these archipelagos as an aid to scientists and conservationists interested in these island groups for which no recent ecological reviews are available. Los Roques has been much better documented than Las Aves and is the largest coral reef marine protected area of Venezuela. It has about 1,500 inhabitants living principally from tourism and fisheries. Studies show that Los Roques possesses fish populations that suffer comparatively less fishing pressure and may serve as a rare benchmark for pristine fish communities elsewhere in the Caribbean. It has also successfully maintained its importance to seabird colonies for the last five decades, notwithstanding serious marine park funding and staffing shortages. A new baseline biological inventory for Las Aves is particulary critical considering the fragmentary information available for this archipelago. The relatively intact and resilient oceanic coral reef systems of Los Roques and Las Aves are of regionally significant conservation value and deserve much more conservation and biodiversity attention than so far accorded.

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The impact of Hurricane David on the forests of Dominica

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x83-029 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 201-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Ariel E. Lugo ◽

Milton Applefield ◽

Douglas J. Pool ◽

Robert B. McDonald

Keyword(s):

Average Intensity ◽

Severe Damage ◽

High Frequencies ◽

Hurricane Damage ◽

Plant Associations ◽

Southern Half ◽

Undisturbed Forest ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Standing Timber ◽

The Impact

The impact of Hurricane David on the forests of Dominica was measured 40 days after the hurricane struck the island on August 29, 1979, with winds averaging 92 km/h which lasted 10.2 h. Sixteen 0.1-ha plots were studied. They were located on a variety of slope and exposure conditions, representing three life zones and 11 plant associations. Measurements included tree diameter at breast height (dbh), total height, wood volume, and percent canopy closure of stand. Species and damage conditions were noted. The hurricane caused severe damage, particularly to forests on the southern half of the island. Forty-two percent of the standing timber volume in the study areas was damaged at an average intensity of 27 m3/ha. About 5.1 × I06 timber trees were damaged in an area of 246 km2. "Complex" vegetation was more resistant to hurricane damage than "simpler" vegetation. The climax Dacryodesexcelsa Vahl associations suffered the least hurricane damage, while the palm brake suffered the most damage. Only one species (Richeriagrandis Vahl) exhibited significantly higher hurricane damage. Trees in larger diameter classes tended to uproot with more frequency than smaller diameter trees, which tended to snap and break. Regrowth of seedlings and saplings was rapid on wet areas of the damaged sites. We found more species on regenerating plots than on the undisturbed forest plots. The damage caused by Hurricane David is the most extensive reported to date anywhere, and damage to vegetation by hurricanes appears to be more extensive than damage by earthquakes and landslides. Owing to their high frequencies in the Caribbean, hurricanes induce cyclic plant successions.

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Causes of the Unusually Destructive 2004 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society ◽

10.1175/bams-87-10-1325 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 87 (10) ◽

pp. 1325-1334 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Philip J. Klotzbach ◽

William M. Gray

Keyword(s):

Southeastern United States ◽

Vertical Wind Shear ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Tropical Atlantic ◽

Atlantic Basin ◽

Easterly Waves ◽

Hurricane Damage ◽

Hurricane Season ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Central Atlantic

The 2004 Atlantic basin hurricane season was one of the most active on record with nine hurricanes and six major hurricanes (maximum sustained winds > 49 ms1) forming during the season. All six major hurricanes formed during August and September, causing this two-month period to be the most active on record. The primary reason the 2004 hurricane season will be remembered, however, is because of the four hurricanes that devastated the Caribbean and the southeastern United States (Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne). Estimated total U.S. hurricane damage was between $40 and $50 billion, and much additional damage was sustained in the Caribbean. It is shown that a very strong central Atlantic equatorial trough, associated with anomalously warm tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures and anomalously weak tropospheric vertical wind shear, combined with extremely favorable midlatitude steering conditions to allow many of the Africa-spawned easterly waves to develop into major hurricanes in the central Atlantic. These major hurricanes then moved on long west-northwest tracks that brought them through the Caribbean and across the southeastern U.S. coastline. The very active and destructive 2004 Atlantic basin hurricane season is attributed to two primary features: a strong Atlantic equatorial trough and steering currents that caused hurricanes to track westward across the U.S. coastline.

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