In the wake of two hurricanes in the Turks and Caicos Islands, researchers document for the first time that catastrophic storms can be agents of natural selection, influencing how species evolve.
Nearly a year after Hurricane Maria, water is still not restored to all of Puerto Rico.
Reuters/Alvin Baez
Cecilia A. Green, Syracuse University e Farah Nibbs, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Many countries collect and store rainwater for use during drought or dry seasons. But this technique is rarely used in the Caribbean, where hurricanes can leave people without water for months.
As of June 2018, the U.S. is short on 182 drugs and medical supplies, including IV bags.
Sherry Yates Young/shutterstock.com
A survey shows that most Puerto Ricans didn’t highly rate the official information coming out of the island. With the Institute of Statistics in trouble, the situation is likely not to improve.
The Caribbean braces for another hurricane season even as many nations remain crippled by the catastrophic damage of 2017. Here, experts assess the region’s difficult and costly storm recovery.
Hurricane Maria’s destruction likely have led to thousands more deaths than originally estimated.
Ramon Espinosa/AP
Official reports state that just 64 people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The latest estimates put the real number at 4,645. How did the count go so wrong?
Muslims praying in Puerto Rico.
AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve
A scholar talks to Muslims in Puerto Rico and comes back with an understanding of their rich history and their struggles.
Rising seas, harsher weather, rainier days. The impacts of climate change make it harder for Caribbean countries to plan their transition toward renewable energy sources.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Masaō Ashtine, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
The 2017 hurricane season showed that Caribbean nations urgently need more resilient power grids. But the effects of climate change – including more severe storms – complicate the shift to renewables.
Some 17,000 U.S. troops aided in the Caribbean relief effort after hurricanes Irma and Maria. That’s roughly equivalent to the U.S. military’s humanitarian mission in the Philippines after Typhoon Hiyan in 2013.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Compared to its foreign disaster missions, the US military mobilized slowly after Maria. But in numbers, capacity and logistics coordination, its work in Puerto Rico was on par with other aid efforts.
Crypto billionaires enjoy their Caribbean playground but poorer locals with little knowledge of the tech are excluded.
People in the U.S. and the Caribbean share vulnerability to climate change-related disasters, but only in the Caribbean is the public truly worried. Why?
US Navy
New research suggests politics and risk perception may explain why the US and Caribbean see climate change so differently, though both places are ever more vulnerable to powerful hurricanes.
Colin Kaepernick, centre, and his San Francisco teammates kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game in 2016.
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Much of the discussion about “Take a Knee” has overlooked the issues of justice and social exclusion, and especially environmental matters. That’s something to think about during the Super Bowl.
Approximately 80 percent of all pharmaceuticals used by Americans are produced overseas.
Beer5020/shutterstock.com
Thanks to Hurricane Maria, some US hospitals are experiencing a saline shortage. In times of emergency, medical supply chains break down too easily.
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency deleted — but later restored — key statistics on its web page about the percentage of Puerto Ricans living without drinking water and electricity. In this photo from October 2017, Roberto Figueroa Caballero sits in his wall-less home after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
The U.S. government continues to wage a fight against scientific information. Without it, the public can do little to address environmental and economic inequality.
Hurricane Maria’s destruction may have led to many hundreds more deaths than originally estimated.
Ramon Espinosa/AP
The governor of Puerto Rico has ordered a recount of the official death toll for Hurricane Maria. The real number is likely higher by the hundreds. What happened?
Trees and power lines in Puerto Rico, damaged by Hurricane Maria in September.
REUTERS/Alvin Baez
2017 brought wild, wacky and even deadly weather. Australia was hit by heatwaves and torrential rains, plus some surprisingly cool spells. Hurricanes hit America, and a killer monsoon lashed Asia.
Though much of Puerto Rico remains devastated by Hurricane Maria, people are preparing to celebrate the holidays.
Lorie Shaull/flickr
It’s said Puerto Rico has the longest Christmas in the world, a noisy two-month celebration that goes through mid-January. Can the holidays still happen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria?
If Caribbean governments can’t afford to rebuild their islands, maybe big tech firms can?
Masaō Ashtine, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
Tesla, China and Richard Branson are among those offering to help Caribbean nations rebuild – and do so in a greener, more resilient way – after the devastating 2017 hurricane season.
Two months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the island remains devastated. Here, a photo taken outside Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 10 shows downed trees and a washed-out road.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters