When Hurricane Maria struck the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica in 2017, it caused the kind of devastation which is unthinkable to larger countries. The Category 5 hurricane damaged 98% of building roofs and caused US$1.2 billion (£950 million) in damage. Dominica effectively lost 226% of its GDP overnight.
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the Caribbean and for small islands such as Dominica (not to be confused with the much larger Dominican Republic) it is an existential threat.
Unlike larger islands like Cuba or Jamaica, a single storm hitting Dominica can damage the entire country – with its mountainous terrain and steep slopes everywhere, most of the country is prone to either landslides or flooding. The topography and small size of the island imposes hard limits on its ability to adapt.
That’s why Dominica ranked 11th most at risk out of 150 countries in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index, based on an analysis of extreme weather between 2000 and 2019.