Hurricane Dean Destroys Homes, Roads, Crops
August 31, 2007 — Hurricane Dean, the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic storm season, churned its way through the Caribbean islands in mid-August before slamming into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, near the border with Belize. At least 28 people were reported killed, including 9 Haitians and 8 Mexicans.
A resident removes debris from her home after Hurricane Dean struck the Bull Bay area in Kingston.
Tens of thousands of people throughout the region evacuated to higher ground and secure shelters as the storm bore down on them. Timely evacuation and the good luck that Dean stayed largely over water as it built to a Category 5 storm resulted in substantially fewer lives lost than originally feared. After Dean finally made landfall at the Mexico-Belize border, it weakened and missed many popular tourist resorts and populated areas.
Delivering Supplies to 1,000 Families
Working closely with Church partners in Kingston and Mandeville, Jamaica, CRS immediately delivered plastic sheeting, water containers and mosquito nets to help 1,000 of the hardest-hit families. Distributions of these items are ongoing and CRS plans to reach an additional 700 families.
"Now, as many people get ready to return home, CRS is focusing on the long term," says Holly Inurreta, CRS' regional technical advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean. "What people will need ... are ways to rebuild their houses, to replace their farm animals, to access credit to revive their businesses, and to get their children back in school."
But while the loss of life was limited by good planning, Dean's damage was severe. It destroyed much of the Caribbean banana crop, left thousands of people homeless, wiped out power and water supplies, and washed away access roads.
In Jamaica, the hardest-hit of the Caribbean islands, 114-mph winds ripped off roofs, damaged businesses and destroyed crops, leaving some 2,500 people to seek shelter. Many homes were destroyed along the southern coastal areas of the island by sea surges that brought waves as high as 10 feet.
"Hurricane Dean took almost the same path past Jamaica as Hurricane Ivan .... Due to the experience with Hurricane Ivan, many families were able to save their lives during Dean but have been left without roofs, homes and household items," reports Inurreta, who coordinated the agency's response in Grenada in 2004, when Hurricane Ivan destroyed 90 percent of the homes on the island.
In the months ahead, CRS will help nearly 1,000 families in parishes throughout Kingston and Mandeville do just that. With $500,000 from a private donor, the agency will work with Church partners in both areas to provide families permanent shelter, continued access to clean water, recovery and rehabilitation of livelihoods, and the means to insure their children stay in school.
