hurricanes
Barbuda’s climate is sub-tropical with a temperature range from 18°C to 45°C. Rainfall is seasonal, usually with an average of under 100 cm per year. Most of the time the sun is out but we stay in the shade. From June to November we are prepared for sudden bad weather ranging from small tropical storms to huge and dangerous hurricanes. Hurricane Irma was the worst hurricane Barbuda ever experienced, only directly hitting Barbuda (not Antigua) travelling fast with the eye of the storm clearly showing us inside it, and damaging or destroying nearly every home on Barbuda. Luis was a close second, a huge area of storm force winds 22 years before. Hurricane Luis was a Category 4 while it was over Barbuda in September 1995, hitting both islands and lasting for two days as it completely slowed down over us before eventually moving away.
As technology improves we learn more about them, and how to try to stay safe. Before a hurricane we can now track quite accurately through sites with local updates like StormCarib and through the online media – until the electricity goes off! But whatever we do to prepare, nothing prepares you for the trauma of the event itself; and the days, weeks, months and years of recovery afterwards.
Our vegetation tends to be scrubby woodland, with wattles cut and used for fencing and regular charcoal production (both pictured below) on the island. There are very few trees over ten metres except for tamarind and mango trees, but numerous drought-tolerant cacti and succulents everywhere. Barbudans traditionally clear plots of land outside the village to grow fruit and vegetables on shared land, including peas and beans, corn, sweet potato, yams, melons, bananas and plantain, and fruit trees such as mango, sugar-apple, pomegranite, soursop and guava. In Codrington village when the weather has been good to us there are colourful displays of hibiscus, pride of barbados, lady of the night, bouganvillia and many other plants and flowers as Barbudans tend their gardens. Agriculture is important to Barbudans and although hurricanes destroy everything initially, nature soon recovers but hotels don’t.
Statistically September has produced the most dangerous storms for Barbuda with more direct hits here in that month, as tropical waves come lower off the African coast straight towards us. Hurricane Irma pictured below was no exception – hitting Barbuda on almost the same date as Luis on September 5/6th 2017 – it was described by the rest of the world as a ‘super-storm’ and was witnessed by everybody as the worst Category 4 Atlantic storm (the highest category) in living memory.
The hurricane devastated every home and business on Barbuda and the government forced an evacuation immediately afterwards, of the whole Barbuda population to Antigua (Irma hadn’t hit Antigua at all) The struggle to be allowed to return to Barbuda began, as opportunistic developers encouraged by the government started on the new airport, instead of helping with village repairs. It took many weeks to get small boat transport to and from Barbuda with the help of Antiguans, so local people could get home to clear up, as journalists tried to get on the transport first. A few of us were eventually allowed back for a few hours a day. Gradually people returned even though in some cases it took over two years to get electricity back. Even now some people are still re-building. Many Barbudans have said the immediate aftermath of the hurricane – especially the compulsory evacuation and the extended, long-overdue permission to return to salvage and repair homes – was more devastating for the island than the hurricane itself.
We have had many small hurricanes or big tropical storms that bring rain, flooding, wind damage and of course they all affect our visitors too. There is a high level of unpredictability in tropical storm and hurricane movement, size and speed. Very destructive storms are still rare, although if you are travelling at any time during the six month season for hurricanes – which starts in June and ends in November – be prepared for disruption on a large scale if we are in the path of any storm.
