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Hurricane

Puerto Ricans survey hurricane damage.

Puerto Rico Confronts a New Hurricane Season — and Old Injustices

By Commentaries/Opinions

The disastrous impacts of Hurricane Maria were magnified by inequalities of race, income, and access to U.S. political power. By Basav Sen, Foreign Policy in Focus — Residents of Puerto Rico are confronting the prospect of a fresh hurricane season, which will likely bring five to nine hurricanes, including one to four major hurricanes. The island, badly battered by last year’s Hurricane Maria, still hasn’t recovered. We continue to learn more about how…

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caribbean-residents-see-climate-change-severe-threat-us-dont-heres

Caribbean residents see climate change as a severe threat but most in US don’t — here’s why

By News & Current Affairs

People in the U.S. and the Caribbean share vulnerability to climate change-related disasters, but only in the Caribbean is the public truly worried. Why? By Elizabeth J. Zechmeister and Claire Q. Evans, The Conversation — During the 2017 Atlantic basin hurricane season, six major storms – all of which were Category 3 or higher – produced devastating human, material and financial devastation across the southern United States and the Caribbean.

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Tami Thomas-Pinkney with her daughter Trinity Handy on their front lawn in Port Arthur, Texas, across from one of the city's temporary dumpsites. (Photo: Julie Dermansky)

Why Is a Dump for Hurricane Harvey Debris Next to an African American Community?

By News & Current Affairs

Tami Thomas-Pinkney’s house in Port Arthur, Texas, was not damaged when Hurricane Harvey soaked the city with up to 28 inches of rain on August 29. But now, a month and a half after the storm, she is preparing to move. Across the street from her family’s home is a temporary dumpsite for storm debris, which she says is endangering her family’s health and making her home unlivable.

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Residents of St. Croix make their way around and under obstacles blocking a main road nearly a week after Hurricane Maria raked the US Virgin Islands.

The 2017 Hurricanes Didn’t Just Hit Puerto Rico — They Hit the Caribbean

By Commentaries/Opinions

Puerto Rico is getting the coverage it deserves, but an entire region has been upended by natural disasters this hurricane season. By Gabriela Thorne — When Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean in early September, the focus was not the damage wrought on the islands but on the fact that it would soon hit Florida. Then came Jose. Then came Maria. In the span a few of weeks, the Caribbean was devastated by three hurricanes…

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The University of the West Indies (The UWI)

Our Neighbour’s Keeper — The UWI response to the Caribbean disaster

By Editors' Choice

Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. W.I.  29 September 2017. During the past month the Caribbean has been pummelled by two catastrophic category 5 hurricanes: Irma and Maria. The aftermath of these hurricanes has been the loss of lives and significant damage to infrastructure across several Caribbean islands. The University of the West Indies (The UWI), has been working closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), as well as Heads of Government to mobilise its resources and expertise to provide support and relief.

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The University of the West Indies (The UWI)

Statement from Sir Hilary Beckles — Irma-Maria: A Reparations Requiem for Caribbean Poverty.

By News & Current Affairs, Reparations

Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. September 23, 2017.  Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles issues the following statement on the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria: “Hurricane Irma’s fury preceded Maria’s by a deadly Caribbean second. Together they constitute the familiar sound of death and destruction reminiscent of a colonial past that clings to the present and is determined to possess and own the Caribbean future.

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Man stands in a ruined building after Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti. (photo: CNN)

In the Caribbean, Colonialism and Inequality Mean Hurricanes Hit Harder

By News & Current Affairs

By The Conversation — Hurricane Maria, the 15th tropical depression this season, is now battering the Caribbean, just two weeks after Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc in the region. The devastation in Dominica is “mind-boggling,” wrote the country’s prime minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, on Facebook just after midnight on September 19. The next day, in Puerto Rico, NPR reported via member station WRTU in San Juan that “Most of the island is without power…or water.” Among the Caribbean…

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Damaged by Hurricanes and "Vulture" Capitalism, Caribbean Islands Plead for Debt Relief

Damaged by Hurricanes and “Vulture” Capitalism, Caribbean Islands Plead for Debt Relief

By Editors' Choice

By Mike Ludwig, Truthout — Last week, just days after Hurricane Irma thrashed through the Caribbean with record-high winds, the Catholic bishop of the island nation of Dominica sent a letter to the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bishop Gabriel Malzaire pleaded with the IMF to temporarily delay debt payments from Antigua and Barbuda and other islands left in ruins by the storm. “The few dozen small…

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