The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season has closed and we have so much to be grateful for. 2019 has given us the fourth consecutive season of elevated damages and is tied with 1969 as the fourth most active season on record. There have been 18 named storms with 6 hurricanes – one of which being Hurricane Dorian which was the most destructive storm to ever hit the Bahamas. Dorian was responsible for over two thirds of the estimated $12 Billion dollars of damage suffered this season. 1-minute sustained 185mph winds annihilated coastal areas leaving over 70,000 homeless, 67 confirmed dead, although as many as 3,500 undocumented Haitian refugees have lost their lives in the 25 foot storm surge that devoured the city of Marsh Harbor. These figures are unfathomable but to those residing in the areas affected, the nightmare is all too real.
According to USA today, Dominica has endeavored to become the world’s first hurricane-proof island through a combination of climate resistant dwellings and structures and an economic shift to rely less on agriculture and more on tourism. This pursuit was realized in the wake of Hurricane Maria which completely destroyed 90% of the island overnight.
A valiant effort but the global mindset is still one of “raise our defenses to overcome Mother Nature’s offenses”; a futile pursuit. If these past four years have shown us anything, it is that our planet will “up the ante” at a moment’s notice and we stand no match. Our greatest structures cannot withstand the annual pulverizing so we must approach it from another angle, clearly.
The truth of the matter is that for a fraction of the “hurricane-proofing project” employed by Dominica, our organization could implement a fully operational StormWeapon installation preventing any further catastrophic storms in the entire region.