Our prayers and goodwill reach out to the people of Japan during this their time of need.
We at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® thought that this was the opportune time to touch on this critical topic as well. In the Caribbean our major risk from natural disasters come in the form of the annual hurricane season, earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Hurricane season: This period officially spans from June 1st to November 30th but we wait for the meteorological officials to tell us it’s all over formally over the media. The peak of the hurricane season is usually in September.
Hurricane Belt (Zone): There is a hurricane belt which gives an indication of which areas of the Caribbean lie inside and outside the general path of these tropical super storms. Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Providencia Island, San Andreas, Panama and the islands off of Venezuela all are in the so called safe-zone. However during the hurricane season, Barbados, Tobago and even Trinidad (the most southerly isle in the eastern Caribbean), experience warnings as the path of the hurricanes are being finalized.
Hurricane Categories: Hurricanes are rated in strength in categories from one being the weakest to five being the strongest. Storms are named as soon as the winds are 39 mph or more. In other words, a storm must start as a Tropical Depression and move on to become a Tropical Storm before it is given a name.
Hurricane naming: Weather gurus give each hurricane a name so there is no confusion when talking about a particular storm as there can be several coming off the west coast of Africa where they are initially formed. Each year, the first tropical storm of the season is given a name that starts with A, the second storm is given a name that starts with a B, and so on (the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not used because there are few common names starting with these letters). Women’s and men’s names are alternated, this started in 1979. The name lists are made up by meteorologists at the World Meteorological Organization. There are different name lists for Atlantic and eastern Pacific tropical storms. The names of very destructive storms are retired and never reused, e.g. Hugo (1989) and Katrina (2005)
Putting off your Caribbean Holiday until after the Hurricane Season: This is solely up to you but we will tell you this, rates are at their best during this time of Hurricane season and truly most hotels are fully equipped to handle even the strongest storms. Hurricanes normally do not last long and many accommodations have back-up generators for power and emergency plans for their guests.
Volcanic activity in the Caribbean: Almost immediately most people knowledgeable of the Caribbean region will say Montserrat. That is indeed the most recent and major ongoing volcanic activity in the region after the Soufriere Hills (Montserrat) volcano erupted in 1995 after a long period of warning signs. Before this, the major disruption occurred in St. Vincent 1979 with their Soufriere (St. Vincent) Volcano erupting and causing ash clouds and pyroclastic avalanches. Montserrat actually is finding quite a niche market in volcano-tourism with many visitors going to the island to observe an active volcano against the backdrop of the Caribbean beauty and climate.
Earthquakes in the Caribbean region: Haiti comes to mind with their powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit them in January 2010. The Caribbean region as a whole is not known for its seismic activity but tremors are often felt in our islands. The islands of Caribbean Insider’s Guide® lie on what is known as the Caribbean plate, to the North is the North American plate and to the South the South American Plate. It is basically the major shifting of these plates that can lead to major earthquakes in the region.
Natural Disasters In The Caribbean
Our prayers and goodwill reach out to the people of Japan during this their time of need.
We at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® thought that this was the opportune time to touch on this critical topic as well. In the Caribbean our major risk from natural disasters come in the form of the annual hurricane season, earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Hurricane season: This period officially spans from June 1st to November 30th but we wait for the meteorological officials to tell us it’s all over formally over the media. The peak of the hurricane season is usually in September.
Hurricane Belt (Zone): There is a hurricane belt which gives an indication of which areas of the Caribbean lie inside and outside the general path of these tropical super storms. Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Providencia Island, San Andreas, Panama and the islands off of Venezuela all are in the so called safe-zone. However during the hurricane season, Barbados, Tobago and even Trinidad (the most southerly isle in the eastern Caribbean), experience warnings as the path of the hurricanes are being finalized.
Hurricane Categories: Hurricanes are rated in strength in categories from one being the weakest to five being the strongest. Storms are named as soon as the winds are 39 mph or more. In other words, a storm must start as a Tropical Depression and move on to become a Tropical Storm before it is given a name.
Hurricane naming: Weather gurus give each hurricane a name so there is no confusion when talking about a particular storm as there can be several coming off the west coast of Africa where they are initially formed. Each year, the first tropical storm of the season is given a name that starts with A, the second storm is given a name that starts with a B, and so on (the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not used because there are few common names starting with these letters). Women’s and men’s names are alternated, this started in 1979. The name lists are made up by meteorologists at the World Meteorological Organization. There are different name lists for Atlantic and eastern Pacific tropical storms. The names of very destructive storms are retired and never reused, e.g. Hugo (1989) and Katrina (2005)
Putting off your Caribbean Holiday until after the Hurricane Season: This is solely up to you but we will tell you this, rates are at their best during this time of Hurricane season and truly most hotels are fully equipped to handle even the strongest storms. Hurricanes normally do not last long and many accommodations have back-up generators for power and emergency plans for their guests.
Volcanic activity in the Caribbean: Almost immediately most people knowledgeable of the Caribbean region will say Montserrat. That is indeed the most recent and major ongoing volcanic activity in the region after the Soufriere Hills (Montserrat) volcano erupted in 1995 after a long period of warning signs. Before this, the major disruption occurred in St. Vincent 1979 with their Soufriere (St. Vincent) Volcano erupting and causing ash clouds and pyroclastic avalanches. Montserrat actually is finding quite a niche market in volcano-tourism with many visitors going to the island to observe an active volcano against the backdrop of the Caribbean beauty and climate.
Earthquakes in the Caribbean region: Haiti comes to mind with their powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit them in January 2010. The Caribbean region as a whole is not known for its seismic activity but tremors are often felt in our islands. The islands of Caribbean Insider’s Guide® lie on what is known as the Caribbean plate, to the North is the North American plate and to the South the South American Plate. It is basically the major shifting of these plates that can lead to major earthquakes in the region.
For more on seismic activity in the Caribbean go on to the University of the West Indies site: http://www.uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=19