Effects of Hurricane Dean in the Lesser Antilles
Encyclopedia
The effects of Hurricane Dean in the Lesser Antilles were spread over five island countries and included 3 fatalities. Hurricane Dean
of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season
formed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Cape Verde
on August 14, 2007. The National Hurricane Center's first Forecast Advisory on the system anticipated that the Cape Verde-type hurricane
would pass into the Caribbean through the Lesser Antilles. The storm moved persistently towards the small island chain, strengthening until it passed through the islands three days later on August 17 as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
. It went on to brush the island of Jamaica and reached Category 5 strength before making landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula
.
While crossing the Lesser Antilles
, Dean caused moderate damage in St. Lucia, Martinique
, and Dominica
, where it washed out roads, damaged houses, and killed 6 people. It also devastated the agriculture-dependent economies of those three states, as well as that of Guadeloupe
, destroying between 80% and 100% of the banana
crops. Deaths were reported as far away as Trinidad
.
approached, the island nations began to prepare with a flurry of activity. On August 14 the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) placed its Regional Response Mechanism on standby and contacted the National Disaster Coordinators of all member states in the Lesser Antilles. On August 15 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) dispatched teams to Barbados, Dominica, and St. Kitts in advance of the hurricane to provide damage assessment should the hurricane affect those islands. At 11 p.m. AST August 15 (0300 UTC
August 16) the respective governments of St. Lucia, Martinique
, Saba, St. Eustatius, and Guadeloupe
and its dependencies issued Hurricane watches and the government of the Netherlands Antilles issued a tropical storm watch for the island of St. Maarten, as then-Tropical Storm Dean was expected to intensify to hurricane strength and reach the Windward Islands
within 36 hours. Authorities in Martinique canceled a memorial to the victims of West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
and began to set up shelters.
At 5 a.m. AST (0900 UTC
) August 16 the respective governments of St. Lucia and Dominica issued hurricane warnings in anticipation of Hurricane Dean's imminent approach. In Dominica
, a dozen and a half tourists were evacuated to concrete shelters. The government of Dominica
also canceled leave for emergency service personnel and evacuated Princess Margret Hospital, fearing that its roof might be vulnerable to the storm's winds. At the same time the Meteorological Service of Barbados issued a tropical storm warning for Barbados and a tropical storm watch for St. Vincent. Three hours later, at 8 a.m. AST (1200 UTC
), the Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm watch for Montserrat, Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis and Barbuda. Shortly thereafter the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service issued a tropical storm watch for Grenada and its dependencies.
The Eastern Caribbean Donor Group convened a meeting on August 16 under the Chair of the Resident Representative United Nations Development Programme Barbados in anticipation of the hurricane causing significant damage and member states requiring international assistance. At 11 a.m. AST (1500 UTC
) the Barbados Meteorological Service issued tropical storm warnings for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Government of the Netherlands Antilles discontinued the hurricane watch on Saba and St. Eustatius, replacing it with a tropical storm warning. At 5 p.m. AST (2100 UTC
) August 16, roughly 15 hours before Hurricane Dean arrived, the Government of France
issued hurricane warnings for Martinique and Guadeloupe and its dependencies, and the NHC issued a tropical storm watch for the U.S. Virgin Islands
and Puerto Rico
. At 8 p.m. AST (2100 UTC
) August 16 the Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm warning for Anguilla
. Martinique's main airport and both of St. Lucia's commercial airports closed that night when the last airplanes landed as the storm's outer rainbands began to sweep over the island. At 11 p.m. AST August 16 (0300 UTC
August 17) the NHC upgraded the tropical storm watch on U.S. Virgin Islands to a tropical storm warning. The next morning, August 17, the center of Hurricane Dean passed between St. Lucia and Martinique. The Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm warning for the British Virgin Islands
that same morning, and the Eastern Caribbean Donor Group convened a second meeting to finalize the coordination of three Rapid Assessment Teams.
between St. Lucia and Martinique
on the morning of August 17 as a Category 2 storm with winds of 90 knots (100 mph, 165 km/h).
Power outages began in some neighborhoods at 6:30 p.m. AST (2230 UTC
) August 16, over 12 hours before the storm arrived, and quickly spread over the entire island. The night saw heavy rains, 4 cm (1.58 inches) at Hewanorra International Airport
, and intense thunderstorms and by morning hurricane force winds peaked at 80 knots (90 mph, 145 km/h). The winds uprooted trees, downed electricity poles, disabled bridges, triggered landslide
s, and damaged several roofs. Hurricane Dean tore the corrugated metal roof off Victoria Hospital's pediatric ward, but its patients had already been evacuated. St. Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort was also damaged when part of the roof blew off its medical ward and fell through the roof of the emergency room. A section of the cafeteria also lost its roof, but no one was injured in either incident.
The capital, Castries
, was flooded by the storm surge and high seas deposited boulders and fishing boats on the streets. One person drowned in Sarrot
after being swept away by a rain-swollen river while trying to recover a cow. Flooding was also reported in the town of Dennery where a number of residents had to be evacuated. Nationwide, damage to housing and buildings totaled EC
$800,000. In the worst hit areas of the north, closest to Hurricane Dean's path, at least 15 roofs were blown off. Two small waterfront houses were completely destroyed in the town of Gros Islet
. The heavy seas also sunk or damaged several boats and damaged coastal roads, in some places eroding the land itself. Coastal damage was estimated at $700,000.
Although the Ministry of Education reported that eleven schools had sustained a combined total of $300,000 of damage, the Ministry of Communications, Works, Transport, and Public Utilities reported that most of the country's other major infrastructure remained functional. They estimated that the cost to clean up all of the roads and drains was $900,000 and the cost to repair the utilities and communications damage was another $505,000. Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority reported another $922,000 of damage, but none of these sectors experienced prolonged disruptions to their functionality.
The island's 5000 acres (20 km²) of banana farms in Mabouya Valley
, Roseau Valley
, and Marc Marc
were severely damaged with many of the plantations waterlogged or outright destroyed. An average of 75% of the crops were lost, with some fields in the Northern Farms losing up to 80% and in the Roseau Valley losing up to 85%. The cost to the agriculture industry was $13.2 million, bringing Hurricane Dean's total cost to $17.3 million (US$6.4 million in 2007) or 0.5% of the nation's GDP.
Martinique experienced 160 km/h winds with gusts to 215 km/h. The torrential rainfall, which reached 332 mm (13.07 inches) caused flooding throughout the island, with the town of Rivière-Pilote
flooding completely. The majority of Martinique's population were left without electricity, water, telephone, or food. The storm destroyed Martinique's entire banana crop, and 70% of the island's sugar cane plantations.
Three people were killed, many more were injured, and 600 Martiniquans were left homeless. The banana fields were completely destroyed. Officials estimated the damage on the island at about €
250 million (US$337 million).
, a mother and her seven-year-old son died when one of a dozen landslide
caused by the heavy rains fell onto their house. Landslides also blocked several roads in the mountainous country. In another incident two people were injured when a tree fell on their house.
Prime Minister
Roosevelt Skerrit
initially estimated that 100 to 125 homes were damaged, but in actuality Hurricane Dean damaged many more: 183 houses lost their roofs completely, 205 houses sustained partial damage to their roofs, 43 houses were completely destroyed, 115 houses suffered significant structural damage to components other than their roofs, and 225 non-dwelling buildings were damaged. In total, 771 buildings suffered significant damage.
Princes Margret Hospital, the island's only hospital, suffered damage to the roofs of the psychiatric and intensive care units. This led to heavy water damage, which also spread into the maternity ward and damaged the electrical system. All of the patients had been evacuated before the storm arrived. Because most equipment and supplies had also been removed, the hurricane's cost to the health sector was limited to the EC$3 million of structural damage.
The storm surge caused EC$15.5 million of damage to sea walls and another EC$15 million of damage to coastal bridges. Floods and landslides contributed EC$17.6 million of damage to the island's road network, while river floods destroyed EC$45.5 million dollars of river walls. Flooding also devastated the agriculture sector and 95% of the crops were lost. Replanting a rehabilitation of the banana trees, 99% of which were destroyed, was expected to take several years.
suffered moderate damage and sustained wind gust up were between 74 and 78 mph (119.1 and 125.5 km/h) in areas such as Marie Galante and Les Saintes, in the Southern section of the island and destroyed 80% and cost €
150 million (US$220 million) in Guadeloupe of the banana crop. The country's main exports.
, sea swells on the east coast killed two people as they tried to secure a boat.
CDERA dispatched a technical support team of Bajans, Montserratians, and Grenadians to Dominica on August 22 to assist in developing a damage assessment. The Government of Venezuela
sent 500 blankets, 500 sheets, 3 large tents, 120 units of tarpaulin, water, and medical supplies to Dominica. The Government of Canada
pledged $2 million in immediate aid to the afflicted countries. The U.S. Government
, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), declared a disaster in Dominica and St. Lucia and provided $25,000 and 75 rolls of plastic sheeting to Dominica for emergency shelter repairs and an additional 50 rolls of plastic sheeting to St. Lucia through its National Emergency Management Organization. CDERA petitioned the Caribbean Development Bank
for a US$100,000 relief grant to assist with relief efforts and damage repairs in St. Lucia and Dominica.
Although St. Lucia suffered significant damage to its residential structures and agricultural land, its airports and hotels were operational within days having needed only small-scale repair work. Hospitals and other essential services kept running on standby power supplied by independent generators to assist in the cleanup and recovery efforts. Roads connecting the north and south of the island were quickly cleared. LUCELEC, the nation's only electricity provider, worked around the clock to repair dozens of downed electrical poles and restored electricity by August 21. The rest of the island's infrastructure weathered the storm. Two shelters were opened for hurricane-affected residence, and USAID/OFDA provided US$40,432 of assistance to the island.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit declared August 19, 2007 to be a national day of prayer and thanks-giving. The destruction of 546 residences forced approximately 1,000 people into 100 shelters. A USAID disaster specialist liaised with the Dominican Office of Disaster Management and arraigned for assistance to the order of US$60,648 of relief supplies and $25,000 of Emergency Shelter supplies.
In the days after to storm, some residents of Martinique, still without electricity, food, water, or telephones, took to looting stores and bakeries. Utility workers from Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and France arrived on August 19 to help restore electricity.
The Secretary of State for the French Overseas, Christian Estrosi
, visited Martinique shortly after the hurricane to inspect the damage. He was joined by French Prime Minister
, François Fillon
on August 22 and the two surveyed the damaged to Guadeloupe and Martinique, the two hardest hit French colonies. A week after the storm hit 11,000 people in Martinique were still without telephone and electricity and in the worst hit parts of southern Guadeloupe the water was still not drinkable. Banana crops in Guadeloupe, 80% of which were destroyed by Dean, will not recover until March, 2008.
Hurricane Dean
The name Dean was used for five tropical cyclones in the Northern Atlantic Ocean:*1983's Tropical Storm Dean, which struck the coast of Virginia, causing minor erosion and flooding...
of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season
2007 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was an active Atlantic hurricane season that produced 17 tropical cyclones, 15 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. It officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the...
formed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
on August 14, 2007. The National Hurricane Center's first Forecast Advisory on the system anticipated that the Cape Verde-type hurricane
Cape Verde-type hurricane
A Cape Verde-type hurricane is an Atlantic hurricane that develops near the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the largest and most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of...
would pass into the Caribbean through the Lesser Antilles. The storm moved persistently towards the small island chain, strengthening until it passed through the islands three days later on August 17 as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
. It went on to brush the island of Jamaica and reached Category 5 strength before making landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
.
While crossing the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
, Dean caused moderate damage in St. Lucia, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, and Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, where it washed out roads, damaged houses, and killed 6 people. It also devastated the agriculture-dependent economies of those three states, as well as that of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, destroying between 80% and 100% of the banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
crops. Deaths were reported as far away as Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
Preparations
The National Hurricane Center consistently predicted that the storm would intensify and pass through the islands. As Hurricane DeanHurricane Dean
The name Dean was used for five tropical cyclones in the Northern Atlantic Ocean:*1983's Tropical Storm Dean, which struck the coast of Virginia, causing minor erosion and flooding...
approached, the island nations began to prepare with a flurry of activity. On August 14 the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) placed its Regional Response Mechanism on standby and contacted the National Disaster Coordinators of all member states in the Lesser Antilles. On August 15 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) dispatched teams to Barbados, Dominica, and St. Kitts in advance of the hurricane to provide damage assessment should the hurricane affect those islands. At 11 p.m. AST August 15 (0300 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
August 16) the respective governments of St. Lucia, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, Saba, St. Eustatius, and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and its dependencies issued Hurricane watches and the government of the Netherlands Antilles issued a tropical storm watch for the island of St. Maarten, as then-Tropical Storm Dean was expected to intensify to hurricane strength and reach the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
within 36 hours. Authorities in Martinique canceled a memorial to the victims of West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 was a West Caribbean Airways charter flight which crashed in a mountainous region in northwest Venezuela on the morning of Tuesday, 16 August 2005, killing all 152 passengers and eight crew....
and began to set up shelters.
At 5 a.m. AST (0900 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) August 16 the respective governments of St. Lucia and Dominica issued hurricane warnings in anticipation of Hurricane Dean's imminent approach. In Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, a dozen and a half tourists were evacuated to concrete shelters. The government of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
also canceled leave for emergency service personnel and evacuated Princess Margret Hospital, fearing that its roof might be vulnerable to the storm's winds. At the same time the Meteorological Service of Barbados issued a tropical storm warning for Barbados and a tropical storm watch for St. Vincent. Three hours later, at 8 a.m. AST (1200 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
), the Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm watch for Montserrat, Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis and Barbuda. Shortly thereafter the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service issued a tropical storm watch for Grenada and its dependencies.
The Eastern Caribbean Donor Group convened a meeting on August 16 under the Chair of the Resident Representative United Nations Development Programme Barbados in anticipation of the hurricane causing significant damage and member states requiring international assistance. At 11 a.m. AST (1500 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) the Barbados Meteorological Service issued tropical storm warnings for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Government of the Netherlands Antilles discontinued the hurricane watch on Saba and St. Eustatius, replacing it with a tropical storm warning. At 5 p.m. AST (2100 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) August 16, roughly 15 hours before Hurricane Dean arrived, the Government of France
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
issued hurricane warnings for Martinique and Guadeloupe and its dependencies, and the NHC issued a tropical storm watch for the U.S. Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. At 8 p.m. AST (2100 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) August 16 the Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm warning for Anguilla
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
. Martinique's main airport and both of St. Lucia's commercial airports closed that night when the last airplanes landed as the storm's outer rainbands began to sweep over the island. At 11 p.m. AST August 16 (0300 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
August 17) the NHC upgraded the tropical storm watch on U.S. Virgin Islands to a tropical storm warning. The next morning, August 17, the center of Hurricane Dean passed between St. Lucia and Martinique. The Meteorological Service of Antigua issued a tropical storm warning for the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
that same morning, and the Eastern Caribbean Donor Group convened a second meeting to finalize the coordination of three Rapid Assessment Teams.
Impact
The storm entered the Caribbean through the Saint Lucia ChannelSaint Lucia Channel
Saint Lucia Channel is a strait in the Caribbean, at . It separates Martinique and Saint Lucia.On August 17, 2007, Hurricane Dean crossed the channel as a Category 2 storm....
between St. Lucia and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
on the morning of August 17 as a Category 2 storm with winds of 90 knots (100 mph, 165 km/h).
St. Lucia
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) August 16, over 12 hours before the storm arrived, and quickly spread over the entire island. The night saw heavy rains, 4 cm (1.58 inches) at Hewanorra International Airport
Hewanorra International Airport
Hewanorra International Airport , near Vieux Fort Quarter, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is the larger of the country's two airports and is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority ....
, and intense thunderstorms and by morning hurricane force winds peaked at 80 knots (90 mph, 145 km/h). The winds uprooted trees, downed electricity poles, disabled bridges, triggered landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
s, and damaged several roofs. Hurricane Dean tore the corrugated metal roof off Victoria Hospital's pediatric ward, but its patients had already been evacuated. St. Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort was also damaged when part of the roof blew off its medical ward and fell through the roof of the emergency room. A section of the cafeteria also lost its roof, but no one was injured in either incident.
The capital, Castries
Castries
Castries , population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 , is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of ....
, was flooded by the storm surge and high seas deposited boulders and fishing boats on the streets. One person drowned in Sarrot
Sarrot
Sarot is a city in the Castries Quarter of the island nation of St. Lucia, Central America. It is located at , 265 feet above sea level....
after being swept away by a rain-swollen river while trying to recover a cow. Flooding was also reported in the town of Dennery where a number of residents had to be evacuated. Nationwide, damage to housing and buildings totaled EC
East Caribbean dollar
The East Caribbean dollar is the currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States...
$800,000. In the worst hit areas of the north, closest to Hurricane Dean's path, at least 15 roofs were blown off. Two small waterfront houses were completely destroyed in the town of Gros Islet
Gros Islet
Gros Islet is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country....
. The heavy seas also sunk or damaged several boats and damaged coastal roads, in some places eroding the land itself. Coastal damage was estimated at $700,000.
Although the Ministry of Education reported that eleven schools had sustained a combined total of $300,000 of damage, the Ministry of Communications, Works, Transport, and Public Utilities reported that most of the country's other major infrastructure remained functional. They estimated that the cost to clean up all of the roads and drains was $900,000 and the cost to repair the utilities and communications damage was another $505,000. Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority reported another $922,000 of damage, but none of these sectors experienced prolonged disruptions to their functionality.
The island's 5000 acres (20 km²) of banana farms in Mabouya Valley
Mabouya Valley
The Mabouya Valley in eastern St. Lucia contains two rivers, the Mabouya and the Derniere. The forested hillsides have, in places, been cleared for farming and the valley receives annual rainfall of 3000 mm at its head in Barre de l'Isle and 2000 mm at La Caye....
, Roseau Valley
Roseau Valley
The Roseau Valley in St. Lucia is home to the island's largest banana plantation. The Roseau River runs through the valley and enters the sea at Roseau Bay...
, and Marc Marc
Marc Marc
Marc Marc is a city in the Castries Quarter of St. Lucia, Central America. It is located at an elevation of 528 feet. Airports nearest to Marc Marc from the city centre.* Vigie/st Lucia Airport...
were severely damaged with many of the plantations waterlogged or outright destroyed. An average of 75% of the crops were lost, with some fields in the Northern Farms losing up to 80% and in the Roseau Valley losing up to 85%. The cost to the agriculture industry was $13.2 million, bringing Hurricane Dean's total cost to $17.3 million (US$6.4 million in 2007) or 0.5% of the nation's GDP.
Martinique
Rivière-Pilote
Rivière-Pilote is a town and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique.The village is situated on the southern end of Martinique, between the village of Sainte-Luce and the town of Le Marin which is a popular haven for yachts. Rivière-Pilote lies inland on the River Grande Pilote...
flooding completely. The majority of Martinique's population were left without electricity, water, telephone, or food. The storm destroyed Martinique's entire banana crop, and 70% of the island's sugar cane plantations.
Three people were killed, many more were injured, and 600 Martiniquans were left homeless. The banana fields were completely destroyed. Officials estimated the damage on the island at about €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
250 million (US$337 million).
Dominica
In DominicaDominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, a mother and her seven-year-old son died when one of a dozen landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
caused by the heavy rains fell onto their house. Landslides also blocked several roads in the mountainous country. In another incident two people were injured when a tree fell on their house.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Dominica
The Prime Minister of Dominica is the head of government in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Nominally, the position was created on November 3, 1978 when Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom...
Roosevelt Skerrit
Roosevelt Skerrit
Roosevelt Skerrit is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000...
initially estimated that 100 to 125 homes were damaged, but in actuality Hurricane Dean damaged many more: 183 houses lost their roofs completely, 205 houses sustained partial damage to their roofs, 43 houses were completely destroyed, 115 houses suffered significant structural damage to components other than their roofs, and 225 non-dwelling buildings were damaged. In total, 771 buildings suffered significant damage.
Princes Margret Hospital, the island's only hospital, suffered damage to the roofs of the psychiatric and intensive care units. This led to heavy water damage, which also spread into the maternity ward and damaged the electrical system. All of the patients had been evacuated before the storm arrived. Because most equipment and supplies had also been removed, the hurricane's cost to the health sector was limited to the EC$3 million of structural damage.
The storm surge caused EC$15.5 million of damage to sea walls and another EC$15 million of damage to coastal bridges. Floods and landslides contributed EC$17.6 million of damage to the island's road network, while river floods destroyed EC$45.5 million dollars of river walls. Flooding also devastated the agriculture sector and 95% of the crops were lost. Replanting a rehabilitation of the banana trees, 99% of which were destroyed, was expected to take several years.
Guadeloupe
Overall damage from Dean is fairly minor in Guadeloupe. However the south of Basse-Terre IslandBasse-Terre Island
Basse-Terre Island is the name of the western-half of Guadeloupe proper, in the Lesser Antilles. It is separated from the other half of Guadeloupe proper, Grande-Terre, by a narrow sea channel called the Rivière Salée ....
suffered moderate damage and sustained wind gust up were between 74 and 78 mph (119.1 and 125.5 km/h) in areas such as Marie Galante and Les Saintes, in the Southern section of the island and destroyed 80% and cost €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
150 million (US$220 million) in Guadeloupe of the banana crop. The country's main exports.
Elsewhere
Although the winds and rain of the hurricane did not reach as far south as the islands of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, sea swells on the east coast killed two people as they tried to secure a boat.
Aftermath
St. Lucia and Dominica activated their Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) response systems to help assess and correct the storm's damages. CDERA acknowledged their requests and, based on preliminary damage assessments, initiated a Level Two response which allowed for the event to be managed at the country level with regional assistance limited to technical support and resources where required. Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada also activated their CDERA response systems. Although they were not directly affected by the hurricane they used the opportunity to test the systems' operating procedures. The other affected islands of the Lesser Antilles, Martinique and Guadeloupe, are not members of CDERA.CDERA dispatched a technical support team of Bajans, Montserratians, and Grenadians to Dominica on August 22 to assist in developing a damage assessment. The Government of Venezuela
Government of Venezuela
|Venezuela is a federal presidential republic governed by a constitution. There are five branches of government: Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Citizen, and Electoral....
sent 500 blankets, 500 sheets, 3 large tents, 120 units of tarpaulin, water, and medical supplies to Dominica. The Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
pledged $2 million in immediate aid to the afflicted countries. The U.S. Government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), declared a disaster in Dominica and St. Lucia and provided $25,000 and 75 rolls of plastic sheeting to Dominica for emergency shelter repairs and an additional 50 rolls of plastic sheeting to St. Lucia through its National Emergency Management Organization. CDERA petitioned the Caribbean Development Bank
Caribbean Development Bank
The Caribbean Development Bank is a financial institution which assists Caribbean nations in financing social and economic programs in its member countries...
for a US$100,000 relief grant to assist with relief efforts and damage repairs in St. Lucia and Dominica.
Although St. Lucia suffered significant damage to its residential structures and agricultural land, its airports and hotels were operational within days having needed only small-scale repair work. Hospitals and other essential services kept running on standby power supplied by independent generators to assist in the cleanup and recovery efforts. Roads connecting the north and south of the island were quickly cleared. LUCELEC, the nation's only electricity provider, worked around the clock to repair dozens of downed electrical poles and restored electricity by August 21. The rest of the island's infrastructure weathered the storm. Two shelters were opened for hurricane-affected residence, and USAID/OFDA provided US$40,432 of assistance to the island.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit declared August 19, 2007 to be a national day of prayer and thanks-giving. The destruction of 546 residences forced approximately 1,000 people into 100 shelters. A USAID disaster specialist liaised with the Dominican Office of Disaster Management and arraigned for assistance to the order of US$60,648 of relief supplies and $25,000 of Emergency Shelter supplies.
In the days after to storm, some residents of Martinique, still without electricity, food, water, or telephones, took to looting stores and bakeries. Utility workers from Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and France arrived on August 19 to help restore electricity.
The Secretary of State for the French Overseas, Christian Estrosi
Christian Estrosi
Christian Estrosi is a French politician of Italian origin, member of the French Parliament , mayor of Nice since 2008. He is a supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy....
, visited Martinique shortly after the hurricane to inspect the damage. He was joined by French Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
, François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
on August 22 and the two surveyed the damaged to Guadeloupe and Martinique, the two hardest hit French colonies. A week after the storm hit 11,000 people in Martinique were still without telephone and electricity and in the worst hit parts of southern Guadeloupe the water was still not drinkable. Banana crops in Guadeloupe, 80% of which were destroyed by Dean, will not recover until March, 2008.
See also
- 2007 Atlantic hurricane season2007 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was an active Atlantic hurricane season that produced 17 tropical cyclones, 15 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. It officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the...
- Hurricane DeanHurricane DeanThe name Dean was used for five tropical cyclones in the Northern Atlantic Ocean:*1983's Tropical Storm Dean, which struck the coast of Virginia, causing minor erosion and flooding...
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes