Submitted by Jane Gosling on the 2016 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit the disaster zone left behind from Tropical Storm Erika this past August. The southeastern provinces of the island experienced the heaviest rainfall and strongest wind, but its effects were felt across the entire nation. 35 people were killed, over 14,000 were left homeless, and at least 80% of the country was left without power.
Over 4 months later, much of the disaster area is still uninhabitable, requiring thousands to be relocated to surrounding communities. Since the storm, they have been able to construct some makeshift roads and bridges to access the demolished areas, but for the most part there has been no progress in recovering the land. Since they do not believe the land is viable to be rebuilt, at least for a long time, many citizens have come to accept that they will not be returning to their homes, and have begun the difficult process of restarting their lives. It was devastating to see the many paths where the rivers divided, leaving only massive boulders and tree stumps in its path. There were remnants of landslides in every direction, and houses flattened and scattered all over the place.
As we have seen in the United States, hurricanes and storms can be extremely debilitating to even the most developed and stable nations. The damage this storm caused to this small, developing island is truly unfathomable. Everyone we’ve met has told us their Erika story, but I was still unprepared for the level of destruction and loss.
These pictures only begin to tell the full story, but you can see some of the landslides along the mountain, as well as where the rainfall caused the rivers to diverge. Where those large boulders now lay, there used to be full neighborhoods.
