assessment of the socio-economic and environmental impact

V. IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
1. General
a) Overview
Natural hazards are an important feature of the natural environmental systems operating in
Jamaica and the Caribbean. However, the occurrence of extreme events such as Hurricane Dean
is often accompanied by disastrous impacts on social and economic well-being and extensive
destruction to the natural environment. Changing climatic conditions are leading to more
frequent and intense weather events. The impact of these events is often exacerbated by
anthropogenic factors which increase the vulnerability of life and land. Extreme events can cause
direct damage to critical costal ecosystems such as, coral reefs, wetlands (mangroves) and
seagrass beds which act as coastal buffers and are habitat, feeding and nursery areas for fish and
other marine organisms. Strong currents caused by winds can also affect the sea floor.
Additionally, beaches and coastal infrastructure are also eroded and damaged due to storm
surges. Equally vulnerable to extreme storm events are forests and other terrestrial vegetation.
b) Pre-Existing Environmental Conditions
Pre-existing environmental conditions can limit or increase the potential impact of natural
hazards such as hurricanes on the environment. Pre-existing conditions before the passage of
Hurricane Dean included the following:
- The existence of formal and informal settlements in coastal areas which are highly vulnerable
to flooding and storm surge (See Figure 5.1). This problem is often made worse by poor
housing design in some of these areas;
- Coastal ecosystems were already being degraded due to marine and land-based pollution,
habitat degradation, over-fishing and the effects of previous storm events (Hurricane Ivan,
2004). For example, the destruction of wetlands in critical areas (such as Portland Cottage,
Clarendon and Old Harbour Bay, St. Catherine) served to increase the risk to storm surge.
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