10 By Franklyn Michael, Supplementary Associate, CARICAD The Caribbean has been particularly hard-hit by devastating hurricanes since 2014, with the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season standing out as historic both in terms of storm strength and damage. SOURCE: UNICEF 2019 T hose three quotations set the context for us to reflect on the importance of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean. In particular, they point to the challenges to efforts to achieve resilient and sustainable development. It would be easy against that background, to think that the Caribbean is singular or on its own, in relation to the threat of storms and hurricanes. That is not so. Tropical Cyclones are a global threat. The National Hurricane Centre defines a tropical cyclone as, “A warm-core non-frontal scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organised deep convection and a closed surface wind circulation about a well-defined centre. Once formed, a tropical cyclone is maintained by the extraction of heat energy from the ocean at high temperatures and heat export at the low temperatures of the upper troposphere. In this they differ from extratropical cyclones, which derive their energy from horizontal temperature contrasts in the atmosphere.” Tropical Cyclones are huge cyclonic systems with sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or greater. They have the potential to release hundreds of tonnes of rainfall and create storm surges that can reach inland for huge distances, in low-lying areas. They also have massive thunderstorms embedded in them. Almost 90% of these storms form within 20° north or south • Continues on next page
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