Turks and Caicos Islands

Along with coastal inundation resulting from sea level rise and storm surges during hurricanes, if climate
change causes an increase in the intensity of precipitation from storm events, more frequent and
substantial flooding will result, which may overburdening wastewater and sewer systems, increasing the
risk of water-borne disease, and create breeding grounds for mosquitoes in low lying areas, increasing the
risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue (Climate Change Committee, 2011). The islands are
brushed or hit by a hurricane once in every 2.17 years (Hurricane City, 2011). Recent past storms have
caused widespread flooding, along with wind damage to homes – tropical storm Hanna and hurricane Ike in
2008 affected the majority of the populations of Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay (ECLAC, 2008) and
caused great loss of property, particularly in Grand Turk (BCQS International, 2010). These systems had
significant rainfall (330 mm of rain fell on Middle Caicos during Hanna) which caused severe flooding along
with widespread wind damage, leading substantial damage to infrastructure including roadways, the
causeway linking Middle Caicos and North Caicos, electricity and service piping including water (ECLAC,
2008). Damages to water supply infrastructure were relatively small at US $339,200, 0.2% of the total
damage of US $213.6M (ECLAC, 2008). During hurricane Ike, the airports in Providenciales, Grand Turk, and
South Caicos were all flooded (Hurricane City, 2011). Flood water on South Caicos took over two weeks to
drain away, compared to Salt Cay where it took around three days – differences thought to result from
variable drainage from the salinas (former salt-drying pans that still exist today) in the two islands, with
those on South Caicos acting to retain rainwater (ECLAC, 2008). Flooding in South Caicos after hurricane Ike
was exacerbated by ground saturation from the earlier Tropical Storm Hanna (Hurricane City, 2011).
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