Hurricane Dean
Category 2 hurricane (SSHS)
True color satellite image of Hurricane Dean on August 16 as it approached the Windward Islands
Areas
affected Windward Islands (especially St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica), Leeward Islands
Date August 17, 2007
Highest winds 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-minute sustained) 105 mph (165 km/h) (gusts) Fatalities 3 direct, 2 indirect
Damage $440 million (2007 USD)
Part of the
2007 Atlantic hurricane season
Effects on Dominica
In Dominica, 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.
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 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.
Hurricane David
Category 5 hurricane (SSHS)
Hurricane David as a strong Category 4
Formed August 25, 1979
Dissipated September 8, 1979
Highest 175 mph (280 km/h) (1-minute sustained) 924 mbar (hPa; 27.3 inHg)
winds
Lowest pressure 2,068+ direct
Fatalities
Damage $1.54 billion (1979 USD)
$4.4 billion (2007 USD)
Areas affected
Windward Islands, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, most of eastern North America
Part of the
1979 Atlantic hurricane season
