DOCSLIB.ORG

The Health Sector in the Face of Disasters and Climate Change in Cuba*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Health Sector in the Face of Disasters and Climate Change in Cuba* Pan American Journal Special report of Public Health The health sector in the face of disasters and climate change in Cuba* Guillermo Mesa Ridel,1 Joel González García,1 María Cristina Reyes Fernández,1 Duniesky Cintra Cala,2 Yudix Ferreiro Rodríguez,1 and José Ernesto Betancourt Lavastida,3 Suggested citation (original manuscript) Mesa Ridel G, González García J, Reyes Fernández MC, Cintra Cala D, Ferreiro Rodríguez Y, Betancourt Lavastida JE. El sector de la salud frente a los desastres y el cambio climático en Cuba. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2018;42:e24. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2018.24 ABSTRACT Due to its impact on human health and its capacity to cause damage, disasters are one of the global problems that most concern the international community. However, and in spite of the efforts made by many health systems, the reduction of vulnerabilities and the lack of strategies to avoid or minimize risks have not received enough attention yet. As Cuba is located in an area of permanent danger of disasters, its health sector has accumulated considerable experience in the management of risks and in the assurance of less risky future scenarios, with active partic- ipation of the community and a planned and organized process to address the impact of climate change. This paper summarizes some of these experiences and describes the dangers, vulnera- bilities, and risks of disasters in Cuba, its Civil Defense System, and planning and organiza- tion in the health sector for disaster reduction, as well as the main effects and challenges of climate change in the health system. Lessons learned and good practices support the key role of human resources to reduce vulnerabilities; the greatest challenges are to avoid or minimize risks, to advance research, to train professionals for climate change, and to optimize the organi- zation of health systems and services in the country. Keywords Disasters; climate change; health policy; Cuba. The crises affecting the planet today the environment, the deterioration of preventive strategies to avoid or mini- overlap, complement and reinforce one which puts human life at stake. mize risks. another. Ethical, economic, political and Climate change is affecting human The endorsement of the Sendai Frame- social conflicts are augmented by others health. Studies of climatic variations work for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015– no less complex, such as civil unrest, and change show an increase in aver- 2030 provided a unique opportunity to struggles over food and disputes over age temperature, rapid sea level rise, evaluate the Hyogo Framework for Ac- extreme alterations in rainfall patterns tion and look for efficient, consen- and the habits of certain animal spe- sus-based solutions to disasters and risks * Non-official English translation from the original cies, as well as an increase in disasters from multiple sources in the context of Spanish manuscript. In case of discrepancy, the of unprecedented magnitude and sustainable development (3). original version (Spanish) shall prevail. 1 Escuela Nacional de Salud Pública, Havana, complexity (1, 2). In many countries, This paper summarizes some of the Cuba. Send correspondence to Guillermo Mesa however, health systems remain fo- Cuban health sector’s experiences deal- Ridel, [email protected] cused on reactive responses and pay ing with disasters and the impacts of cli- 2 Representative of the Pan American Health Organization, Havana, Cuba. scant attention to reducing vulnerabil- mate change. It describes disaster 3 Ministerio de Salud Pública, Havana, Cuba. ities and incorporating sustainable hazards, vulnerabilities and risks in This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. No modifications or commercial use of this article are permitted. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that PAHO or this article endorse any specific organization or products. The use of the PAHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article’s original URL. Rev Panam Salud Publica 42, 2018 1 Special report Mesa ridel et al. • Face of disasters and climate change in Cuba Cuba; the country’s Civil Defense Sys- more than US$30 billion in damage to related to the susceptibility of lifelines tem; and planning and organization for housing infrastructure, agriculture and (water and sewage systems, power lines, disaster reduction in the health sector. industry. Thanks to the alerts built into communications, storage facilities and The main impacts and challenges of cli- the early warning system for tropical cy- roads); and c) functional, referring to or- mate change on the health system are clones (6) and measures adopted to pro- ganization, availability of resources to also described. tect the population, Cuba has been able meet medical needs, patient transport, to reduce the number of human victims hospitalization, monitoring and control DISASTER HAZARDS, caused by these events. of actions, as well as risk perception, VULNERABILITIES AND RISKS Cuba is also exposed to geological haz- preparation and professional perfor- ards, especially in the southeastern re- mance (13–15). The analysis of hazards or threats is the gion of the country, due to seismic Disaster risk refers to potential losses foundation for identifying vulnerabil- activity from the movement of tectonic from one or more hazardous incidents ities and assessing risk. plates (7). The strongest earthquake— (simultaneous or conjoined) affecting Due to its geographic location in the which occurred in 1932 near ​​Santiago de one or more vulnerable elements at a Caribbean, Cuba shares with its regional Cuba and measured 6.75 on the Richter specific time and place, under specific neighbors the recurring danger of hy- scale—left 20 people dead and more than conditions. A multidisciplinary approach drometeorological events—the forma- 400 injured, and caused major damage to is used to make a qualitative or quantita- tion and movement of tropical cyclones, 80% of the buildings in the city. tive risk assessment for each probable heavy rains, floods, local storms of great In terms of anthropogenic disasters, disaster, according to its recurrence and magnitude, and droughts—, causing ma- the most notable are technological, fun- potential tangible and intangible losses. jor material and economic losses, and af- damentally transportation-linked acci- These risk assessments consider not only fecting human health (4). Between 1926 dents, both automotive and rail (8, 9), potential physical damage to structures, and 1944, tropical storms in Cuba caused and chemical accidents involving spills but also conditions derived from the eco- 3 935 deaths. The most destructive hurri- and toxic leaks at industrial sites and sur- nomic, financial, food-and-nutrition, canes were the October 1926 cyclone that rounding areas, such as the 1990 ammo- health-and-hygiene, psychosocial, en- hit Isla de Pinos (now Isla de la Juven- nia spill in the city of Matanzas, capital of ergy and communications situation, tud) and Havana, causing 583 fatalities; the province of the same name (10). among others (16). the November 1932 hurricane that de- Among health hazards, the most fre- All of this requires a holistic approach stroyed Santa Cruz del Sur in Camagüey quent are those caused by epidemics as- that facilitates understanding of each province, causing 3 033 deaths; and the sociated with the international type of event, and determines the nature October 1944 cyclone that swept Isla de epidemiologic situation and violations of and conditions of vulnerability of the Pinos and Havana, causing 319 deaths. health laws, especially in places charac- population, goods, services, exposed In October 1963, another devastating terized by unfavorable health and sani- livelihoods and the environment. Deci- event, Hurricane Flora, left more than 1 tary conditions combined with low sion-making is based on the following 200 dead in eastern Cuba, thousands of perception of risk among the population two principles: first, protect human lives victims, and extensive damage to agri- (11). Other threats include the possibility and avoid economic losses; second, guar- culture, housing and infrastructure (5). of biological attack. (12). antee disaster reduction activity at the Over the past 20 years, Cuba has been Existing principal vulnerabilities can be lowest possible cost. This analysis is used struck by 30 major atmospheric events: classified as: a) structural, varying ac- to define preventive actions that reduce 10 tropical storms and 20 hurricanes. Of cording to the condition of housing stock vulnerabilities, mitigate impacts, and the latter, 11 were classified high inten- and level of exploitation or lack of pre- take measures that minimize losses and sity (Table 1), causing 54 deaths and ventive maintenance; b) non-structural, lead to rapid recovery. THE CUBAN CIVIL DEFENSE TABLE 1. Number of deaths and people protected in high-intensity hurricanes. Cuba, SYSTEM 2001-2017 Cuba had no efficient civil defense sys- a Hurricane Category Date Deaths People protected tem before 1959. Such activities were ba- Michelle 4 November 2001 5 783 259 sically limited to shelters administered Charley 3 August 2004 4 232 929I by the Ministry of Health and deploy- van 4 September 2004 0 2 266 066 ment of the Fire Department, which did Dennis 4 July 2005 17 1 551 667 not receive effective support from the Wilma 5 October 2005 0 760 168 State. Gustav 4 August 2008 0 467 579 Civil defense (CD) activities were in- Ike 4 September 2008 7 2 615 794 stitutionalized in Cuba in 1962 under Paloma 4 November 2008 0 1 319 433 the title People’s Defense, with the pri- Sandy 3 October 2012 11 343 230 mary mission of organizing the popula- Matthew 4 October 2016 0 1 373 595 tion for the defense of cities and Irma 4 September 2017 10 1 863 589 protection of industries and service cen- a According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which defines and classifies hurricane categories based on wind speed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses
    Climate change and human health RISKS AND RESPONSES Editors A.J. McMichael The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia D.H. Campbell-Lendrum London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom C.F. Corvalán World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland K.L. Ebi World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome, Italy A.K. Githeko Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya J.D. Scheraga US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA A. Woodward University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION GENEVA 2003 WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Climate change and human health : risks and responses / editors : A. J. McMichael . [et al.] 1.Climate 2.Greenhouse effect 3.Natural disasters 4.Disease transmission 5.Ultraviolet rays—adverse effects 6.Risk assessment I.McMichael, Anthony J. ISBN 92 4 156248 X (NLM classification: WA 30) ©World Health Organization 2003 All rights reserved. Publications of the World Health Organization can be obtained from Marketing and Dis- semination, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel: +41 22 791 2476; fax: +41 22 791 4857; email: [email protected]). Requests for permission to reproduce or translate WHO publications—whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution—should be addressed to Publications, at the above address (fax: +41 22 791 4806; email: [email protected]). The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Weathering US–Cuba Political Storms: José Rubiera Phd Cuba’S Chief Weather Forecaster
    Interview Weathering US–Cuba Political Storms: José Rubiera PhD Cuba’s Chief Weather Forecaster Gail Reed MS E. Añé Full disclosure: chief weather forecaster is not his of cial title, but rather one affectionally con- ferred on Dr Rubiera by the Cuban people, who look to him not only in times of peril, but also to learn about the science of meteorology. Any- one who has taken a taxi in Cuba during hur- ricane season (June 1 to November 30), and bothered to ask the driver, will receive a clear explanation about how hurricanes are formed, what the Saf r-Simpson scale is all about, and how the season is shaping up—all courtesy of Dr Rubiera’s talent for communication during nightly weather forecasts and special broad- casts. It’s no exaggeration to say that he is something of an icon in Cuba, a man people trust. Now, he is retired as chief of forecasting at Cu- ba’s Meteorology Institute, but he stays on as an advisor, and since 1989 represents Cuba’s Meteorological Service as the Vice Chairper- son of the World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Finally, he has been a driving force in Cuba for collaboration Committee for Region IV (North America, Central America and with Miami’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) and other US the Caribbean). He also keeps a spot on nightly news and meteorologists (in fact, the Chairperson of the Region IV Com- hosts two TV shows of his own: Global Weather and Weather mittee is the head of the NHC). in the Caribbean.
    [Show full text]
  • Remote Sensing-Based Flood Mapping and Flood Hazard Assessment in Haiti
    www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/ csdms.colorado.edu Remote Sensing-based Flood Mapping and Flood Hazard Assessment in Haiti “Rebuilding for Resilience: How Science and Engineering Can Inform Haiti's Reconstruction, March 22 - March 23, 2010, University of Miami - Coral Gables, FL Prof. G. Robert Brakenridge Dartmouth Flood Observatory, Dartmouth College, and Visiting Scientist, Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System, University of Colorado Dr. Scott D. Peckham (Presenter) Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System, University of Colorado 1) Floods commonly produce catastrophic damage in Haiti 2) Not all such floods are from tropical cyclones On May 18-25, 2004, a low-pressure system originating from Central America brought exceptionally heavy showers and thunderstorms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Rainfall amounts exceeded 500 mm (19.7 inches) across the border areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic At the town of Jimani, DR, 250 mm (10 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours. NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data. Lethal Major Floods in the Dominican Republic / Haiti are a Near-Annual Event The Dartmouth Flood Observatory data archive dates back to 1985. Between 1986 and early 2004 (prior to Hurricane Jeanne in November), at least, fourteen lethal events impacted the island, including: Year Month Casualties 1986 early June >39 1986 late October 40 1988 early September - Hurricane Gilbert 237 1993 late May 20 1994 early November – Hurricane Gordon >1000 1996 mid November 18 1998 Late August – Hurricane Gustaf >22 1998 late September - Hurricane Georges >400 1999 late October - Hurricane Jose 4 2001 mid-May 15 2002 late May 30 2003 early December - Tropical Storm Odette 8 2003 mid-November 10 2004 late May >2000 NASA’s two MODIS sensors, Aqua and Terra, are an important flood mapping tool: • Visible and near IR spectral bands provide excellent land/water discrimination over wide areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Hurricanes and Climate Change
    Special Report: Hurricanes and Climate Change Judith Curry Climate Forecast Applications Network Version 2 4 September 2019 Contact information: Judith Curry, President Climate Forecast Applications Network Reno, NV 89519 404 803 2012 [email protected] http://www.cfanclimate.net 1 Hurricanes and Climate Change Judith Curry Climate Forecast Applications Network Executive summary . 4 1. Introduction . 5 2. Hurricane terminology, structure and mechanisms . 6 2.1 Hurricane processes 2.2 Factors contributing to landfall impacts 2.2.1 Wind damage 2.2.2 Storm surge 2.2.3 Rainfall 3. Historical variability and trends . 12 3.1 Global 3.2 Atlantic 3.3 Pacific 3.4 Conclusions 4. Detection and attribution . 26 4.1 Detection 4.2 Sources of variability and change 4.3 Natural multi-decadal climate modes 4.4 Attribution – models 4.5 Attribution – physical understanding 4.6 Conclusions 5. Landfalling hurricanes . 43 5.1 Continental U.S. 5.2 Caribbean 5.3 Global 5.4 Water – rainfall and storm surge 5.5 Hurricane size 5.6 Damage and losses 5.7 Conclusions 6. Attribution: recent U.S. landfalling hurricanes . 58 6.1 Detection and attribution of extreme weather events 6.2 Sandy 6.3 Harvey 6.4 Irma 6.5 Florence 6.6 Michael 6.7. Conclusions 2 7. 21st century projections . 66 7.1 Climate model projections 7.2 2100 – manmade climate change 7.3 2050 – decadal variability 7.3 Landfall impacts 8. Conclusions . 78 References . 80 3 Executive summary This Report assesses the scientific basis for projections of future hurricane activity. The Report evaluates the assessments and projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and recent national assessments regarding hurricanes.
    [Show full text]
  • 08-Cuba-Between-Hurricanes.Pdf
    DOI 10.15517/dre.v22i2.46955 CUBA BETWEEN HURRICANES:COMMODITY FRONTIERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES Jean Stubbs Abstract In 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Caibarién, in north-central Cuba. Images of a devastated forgotten coastal town catapulted to international prominence a once-thriving port for the export of sugar and sponges, left in the shadows of international tourism on the nearby keys. In 2019, a collaboration between the Commodities of Empire British Academy Research Project, the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, and the Cuban Film Institute led to filming a documentary in Cuba whose point of departure was Caibarién. The aim was to combine an environmental and commodity frontiers approach to visualize historical junctures and contemporary challenges in the context of global market inequalities and accentuating climate change. Archival research underpinned local testimonies and expert interviews, along with clips from newsreels, documentaries, and feature films, to produce Cuba: Living Between Hurricanes. This article charts the project to film the documentary; homes in on the paradoxes of living first with international tourism, Cuba’s most recent commodity frontier, and then without, due to the Covid-19 perfect storm of a pandemic, likened to a category 5 hurricane; and concludes reflecting on documentary as a tool for raising awareness during the pandemic. Keywords: history, climate, tourism, documentary filmmaking, social inequality, tertiary economy. Fecha de recepción: 9 de mayo de 2021 • Fecha de aceptación: 10 de junio de 2021 Jean Stubbs • Investigadora adjunta, Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), Escuela de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Londres, Londres, Inglaterra.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. ATLANTIC HURRICANES Tures from 700-Nib
    42 $10i\r mrAY TYESTHE R RE VIE IV Vol. 92, No. 1 washed way or buried portions ol‘ towns, and cost an estimated 5000 lives. The highest measured wind on Haiti was 120 n1.p.h. In Cuba, where 1750 lives are believed lost, winds ol‘ 70 to 100 n1.p.h. lashed eastern sections I‘or 100 or inore hours. In a 12-hr. period on October 3-4, 16 in. of rain fell at Morne Mticayu, Haiti. The storm total at Silver Hill, Jamaica was inore than 60 in. A conservative estiniate of property damage attributa- ble to Flora is $488,550,000, with some areas of Hispaniola still to be heard from. Damage to the economy of the areas worst hit is more difficult to estiiiiate but the effects ol Flora. will surely be felt for years. Hurricane Flora originated in the Tropics and remained imbedded in the tropical easterly flow for several days until it became blocked near eastern Cuba by high pressure areas to the west, north, and east. After spending nearly 5 days in the vicinity of eastern Cuba, it was picked up by westerlies in a polar trough and carried northeastward into the Atlantic. Hurricane Ginny formed in the cut-off southern section of a shearing mean trough. The storm began as a cold Low and gradually assumed tropical characteristics over warin waters of the Gulf Stream at about 34” AT. This FIGUIZE10.-Prcliminary tracks of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storm wiis i‘xced southwestward (fig. 10) by 8 strong cyclones during October 1963.
    [Show full text]
  • Hurricanes and Nor'easters: Hurricane Katrina
    HURRICANES AND nor’easTERS: The Big Winds HURRICANE KATRINA: A Case Study of the Costliest Disaster in U.S. History National Weather Service photo. About Natural Hazards and Disasters: 2006 Updated Edition: In their book, Donald and David Hyndman focus on Earth and atmospheric hazards that appear rapidly, often without significant warning. With each topic they emphasize the interrelationships between hazards, such as the fact that building dams on rivers often leads to greater coastal erosion, and wildfires generally make slopes more susceptible to floods, landslides, and mudflows. By learning about the dynamic Earth processes that affect our lives, the reader should be able to make educated choices about where to live, and where to build houses, business offices or engineering projects. People do not often make poor choices willfully but through their lack of awareness of natural processes. Hyndman 0495153214 Page 1.indd 1 3/29/06 12:40:31 PM Hurricanes and Nor’easters: The Big Winds Hurricane Katrina: A Case Study of the Costliest Disaster in U. S. History Executive Editors: Pro d uction/Man ufacturin g Rights an d Permissio ns Michele Baird, Maureen Staudt & Michael Supervisor: Specialists: Stranz Donna M. Brown Kalina Hintz and Bahman Naraghi Project Development Manager: Pre-Media Services Su pervisor: Cover Image: Linda de Stefano Dan Plofchan Getty Images* Marketing Coordi nators: Lindsay Annett and Sara Mercurio © 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a part of ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this The Adaptable Courseware Program the Thomson Corporation. Thomson, the work covered by the copyright hereon consists of products and additions to Star logo, and Brooks/Cole are may be reproduced or used in any form or existing Brooks/Cole products that are trademarks used herein under license.
    [Show full text]
  • Paloma Brings 2008 Hurricane Season to a Close; Damages Exceed $10
    Vol. 16, No. 11 December 2008 www.cubanews.com In the News Paloma brings 2008 hurricane season to a close; damages exceed $10 billion Killer storms nothing new BY OUR HAVANA CORRESPONDENT Since 1800, Cuba has been hit directly by neighboring Haiti, where Gustav, Hanna and he 2008 hurricane season, which officially Ike left hundreds dead. In Cuba, only seven peo- over 120 hurricanes ......................Page 2 ended Nov. 30, has been one of the most ple lost their lives — all from Ike — thanks to T destructive in Cuba’s history. the regime’s mandatory evacuation procedures USCC: End the embargo The season produced 16 cyclones — eight that kick in every time a hurricane threatens. President Raúl Castro mentioned the $10 bil- Chamber of Commerce, other groups ask tropical storms and eight hurricanes — making it the busiest Atlantic season since 2005, which lion figure during a Nov. 12 visit to Camagüey Obama to scrap past policies .......Page 4 spawned 28 named storms including Tropical province, where officials said 8,000 homes were Storm Zeta, which formed Dec. 30 and lasted damaged when Paloma struck the province’s Guayabal damaged into January 2006. south coast at Santa Cruz del Sur. Of the year’s eight hurricanes, three pum- Raúl, dressed in military fatigues, went to Despite storm destruction, port is still a meled Cuba, leaving combined losses in excess Camagüey a day after Paloma spun itself out top priority for Cuba ......................Page 6 of $10 billion. That’s roughly twice the damage over Cuba. The lengthy TV report showed him caused by all major hurricanes from 1985 to talking with storm victims and promising to 2007, and represents 17% of Cuba’s 2007 GDP.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessment of the Economic Impacts of Hurricane Gilbert on Coastal and Marine Resources in Jamaica
    UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME Assessment of the economic impacts of HiGilbert on coastal and. UNEP Regwnal Seas Reports and Studies No. 110 UNEP 1989 PREFACE In 1974, at the request of several Caribbean Governments, preparations were initiated by Decision (8)11 of the Second Session of the Governing Council of UNEP for the formulation of an Action Plan for sound environmental management in the Wider Caribbean region. The geographic coverage of the Wider Caribbean region was drawn to include all of the insular and coastal States and Territories of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and their adjacent waters from the U.S. Gulf coast states and the islands of the Bahamian chain, south to the French Department of Guiana. This Action Plan was prepared in close consultation with the Governments of the region and with the support and assistance of the United Nations Environment Programne (UNEP), the Economic Comnission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and other international and regional organizations such as the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) , the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs (UWOIESA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) of the World Health Organization (MHO) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). At the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in April 1981, tuenty-two States and Territories adopted the Action Plan and identified a programme of priorities for its implementation.
    [Show full text]
  • Cuba Between Hurricanes:Commodity Frontiers and Environmental Challenges
    DOI 10.15517/dre.v22i2.46955 CUBA BETWEEN HURRICANES:COMMODITY FRONTIERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES Jean Stubbs Abstract In 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Caibarién, in north-central Cuba. Images of a devastated forgotten coastal town catapulted to international prominence a once-thriving port for the export of sugar and sponges, left in the shadows of international tourism on the nearby keys. In 2019, a collaboration between the Commodities of Empire British Academy Research Project, the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, and the Cuban Film Institute led to filming a documentary in Cuba whose point of departure was Caibarién. The aim was to combine an environmental and commodity frontiers approach to visualize historical junctures and contemporary challenges in the context of global market inequalities and accentuating climate change. Archival research underpinned local testimonies and expert interviews, along with clips from newsreels, documentaries, and feature films, to produce Cuba: Living Between Hurricanes. This article charts the project to film the documentary; homes in on the paradoxes of living first with international tourism, Cuba’s most recent commodity frontier, and then without, due to the Covid-19 perfect storm of a pandemic, likened to a category 5 hurricane; and concludes reflecting on documentary as a tool for raising awareness during the pandemic. Keywords: history, climate, tourism, documentary filmmaking, social inequality, tertiary economy. Fecha de recepción: 9 de mayo de 2021 • Fecha de aceptación: 10 de junio de 2021 Jean Stubbs • Investigadora adjunta, Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), Escuela de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Londres, Londres, Inglaterra.
    [Show full text]
  • Hurricane Noel (AL162007) 28 October-2 November 2007
    Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Noel (AL162007) 28 October-2 November 2007 Daniel P. Brown National Hurricane Center 17 December 2007 Revised 29 February 2008 (to include rainfall amount for Camp Perrin, Haiti) Noel took an erratic track across Hispaniola and Cuba as a tropical storm before becoming a hurricane as it exited the northwestern Bahamas. Torrential rainfall from Noel produced devastating floods and loss of life in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, eastern Cuba and the Bahamas. Noel then evolved into a large and powerful extratropical cyclone that brought hurricane force wind gusts to portions of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. a. Synoptic History The tropical wave that played a role in the development of Noel departed the west coast of Africa early on 16 October. During the next several days, the wave moved westward across the eastern Atlantic without showing any signs of organization. As the tropical wave approached the Lesser Antilles late on 22 October, it began to interact with a surface trough lying just north of the Leeward Islands and an upper-level trough that extended southwestward from the Atlantic into the eastern Caribbean Sea. As the wave interacted with these two features, a broad surface low pressure area formed about 150 n mi east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands late on 23 October. The new surface low then moved slowly westward and produced disorganized thunderstorm activity during the next couple of days, while strong upper-level westerly winds inhibited further development. The low turned west-southwestward on 25 October, moving over the Virgin Islands and passing near the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico early the next day.
    [Show full text]
  • Amazon and Orinoco River Plumes and NBC Rings: Bystanders Or Participants in Hurricane Events?
    316 JOURNAL OF CLIMATE VOLUME 20 Amazon and Orinoco River Plumes and NBC Rings: Bystanders or Participants in Hurricane Events? AMY FFIELD Earth and Space Research, Upper Grandview, New York (Manuscript received 25 July 2005, in final form 5 May 2006) ABTRACT The Amazon and Orinoco River plumes and North Brazil Current (NBC) rings are investigated during the 1 June through 30 November Atlantic hurricane season to identify their impact on upper-ocean tem- peratures in the region and to draw attention to their potential role in hurricane maintenance and inten- sification. The analysis uses ocean temperature and salinity stratification data, infrared and microwave satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) data, and Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane tracks data. The Amazon–Orinoco River plume spreads into the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean forming an exten- sive (0°–20°N, 78°–33°W) 10–60-m-thick buoyant surface layer associated with the warmest surface tem- peratures (up to ϩ3°C) in the region due to the freshwater barrier layer effect. At times the warm Amazon–Orinoco River plume is bisected by cool-surface NBC rings. For the 1960 to 2000 time period, 68% of all category 5 hurricanes passed directly over the historical region of the plume, revealing that most of the most destructive hurricanes may be influenced by ocean–atmosphere interaction with the warm plume just prior to reaching the Caribbean. Statistical analyses of tropical Atlantic SSTs and tropical cyclone wind speeds reveal a significant and unique relationship between warm (cool) SSTs in the Amazon– Orinoco River plume and stronger (weaker) tropical cyclone wind speeds between 35° and 55°W.
    [Show full text]