Post-hurricanes Caribbean

This item appears on page 19 of the January 2018 issue.

After enduring three destructive hurricanes in late August and September, the Caribbean region is recovering. Though some islands suffered extensive damage to buildings, infrastructure and the landscape, 70% of the islands in the Caribbean suffered very little damage or no damage at all. 

As of press time, every commercial airport and nearly every cruise port was at least partially open and receiving passengers, and the infrastructure on nearly every island in the hardest-hit eastern Caribbean had been restored, though many businesses and homes were still in need of repair.

Some islands have not recovered enough to begin welcoming visitors, however. Barbuda, where more than 90% of the buildings were destroyed and whose entire population left after Hurricane Irma struck, is still practically uninhabited. And much of Puerto Rico remains without power, Hurricane Maria having destroyed infrastructure islandwide.  

In addition, the coral reefs off of Dominica and the British Virgin Islands were damaged and will take years to fully recover.