Hurricanes in the Caribbean 2007

The hurricane season of 2007 mercilessly battered Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean in one of the most destructive years of recent times.

The situation

After a year without any major disasters, 2007 saw two category five hurricanes, Dean and Felix, hit the Atlantic coast within months of each other, combining to cause one of the most destructive years of recent times.

The hurricane season mercilessly battered Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean region. Eight countries: México, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent, suffered under the impact of a hurricane or a tropical storm.

Hurricane Dean

The first hurricane to hit the region was Dean. At the end of August, the storm affected the Windward Islands and Jamaica. Our work in Jamaica mainly concentrated on water distribution and rehabilitating latrines. In the Windward Islands Oxfam's response was focused on helping small-scale farmers recover their livelihoods, especially in the banana sector.

Hurricane Felix

In September, Hurricane Felix hit the northwestern coast of Nicaragua, destroying more than 20,000 houses in the region and wiping out crops that were ready for harvest.  This situation became critical because of continued rainfall for over 30 days – endangering the food security of more than 200,000 people in the region.

Our response in the country was mainly concentrated in the El Triangulo Minero region, where we cleaned up wells, improved the water and sanitation systems, and helped the population to recover their livelihoods. Our response in the country reached more than 4,500 households.

Tropical storm Noel

In November, the most recent tropical storm, Noel, bought floods to the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas. According to some sources more than 550,000 people suffered damage to their homes and lost their crops, with vast numbers of wells contaminated in rural areas. 

We launched an emergency response in the rural communities of Tabasco; cleaning wells and restoring the water distribution network.  In Tabasco alone, this project helped up to 2,000 families. In Chiapas we focused on livelihood recovery which will benefit a further 2,500 people.

The same tropical storm hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Vulnerability is a major issue in these countries, and damages were significant. In the Dominican Republic, more than 20,000 houses were destroyed. The main issue, especially for people living in temporary shelters, was access to clean water and food.  Intermón Oxfam led our response in the Dominican Republic.

In Haiti, eight out of ten geographical departments were severely affected by the storm, the worst hit were the West and the Southeast Departments. Our first-phase response was in three municipalities in the West Department providing shelters, cash for food, and water and hygiene kits.

Update: November 2007