Hazards Are Natural. Disasters Are Made.

We cannot stop hurricanes. We can decide how much damage they do.

Dr. Peter Edwards
3 min read

In 2016, as Hurricane Matthew narrowly missed Jamaica on its way to devastate Haiti, I wrote that “occasionally Mother Earth likes to let us know that she is in charge.” Nine years later Hurricane Melissa did not miss. Its toll on Jamaica in 2025 made the point more painfully than any article could.

Phenomena and disasters

Hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts are natural phenomena. They would happen with or without us. They become disasters when they strike people, property and economies that are exposed and unprepared. That distinction matters because it shows where our power lies. We cannot stop a storm, but we can reduce what it destroys.

Warmer water, stronger storms

Hurricanes draw their energy from warm ocean water, and the oceans are warming. The science is clear that human activity, above all burning fossil fuels and clearing vegetation, is the main driver. The result is a greater share of intense storms, and storms that can strengthen very quickly before landfall.

Nature is part of our defences

Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds absorb wave energy and storm surge before they reach the shore. Forested hillsides hold soil in place in heavy rain. Every reef we degrade and every mangrove we clear removes a layer of protection we were getting for free. Restoring these ecosystems is one of the most cost-effective forms of disaster preparedness available to a small island.

Building resilience

Resilience also means better planning: keeping development out of floodplains and off vulnerable shorelines, reducing sprawl, enforcing building codes and taking warnings seriously. It means treating reduce, reuse and recycle as more than slogans, and supporting international action to cut emissions. And it means education, teaching our children, parents and neighbours what works. As Jamaica rebuilds after Melissa, the question is not whether the next storm will come. It is whether we will be better prepared when it does.

Adapted from “Hurricanes: Natural Phenomena That Lead to Human Catastrophes” (2016), written after Hurricane Matthew.