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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
October 3, 2002
Soil moisture across the Caribbean Islands continues to improve late in the 2002 hurricane season (June to November), but the cost is high, following the damage from Hurricane Isidore. Hurricane Lili swirled through the Caribbean Sea, bringing rain in a band approaching 200 miles wide from St. Vincent to the southern coast of Cuba. At least 7 lives have been lost in Lili's path. St. Lucia is said to have lost half its banana crop, and similar effects are anticipated in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Cuba. Many of the Caribbean Islands have rugged, densely vegetated mountains that hold water very well under normal conditions. The pressure of consecutive days of steady rain turns the hillsides into funnels that direct a swift-flowing wall of water into the valleys.
Official assessment of the affect of Lili may be several days in coming from Jamaica. Beyond the difficulty in obtaining accurate data from rural areas during a crisis, the tension of a nationwide election on October 16 may cause some delay in the flow of information, for fear that haste may lead to distressing inaccuracies. The FAS office in Kingston hopes to have reliable assessment data to release by early next week. Media reports say the Prime Minister of Jamaica is considering seeking international assistance from such agencies as the Caribbean Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, which granted aid following the May/June floods.
Much of Jamaica flooded in May/June and had not experienced sustained rainfall until now (see panels A and B). The greatest damage appears to be in the south coast parishes drenched by Hurricane Isidore a week earlier, in addition to the eastern parishes which Isidore had missed. Producers had hoped good weather following Isidore would permit rapid soil drainage and a return to normal cultivation activities; Lili has undone that recovery. Areas saturated by Isidore are now flooded, and landslides are common and prominent. Dry weather and much good fortune will be needed to avoid a major agricultural disaster, as the high water will degrade all types of vegetation. Jamaican orchards, for example, are grown on uneven terrain, where ponding will be a problem long after the flood waters have receded. The absence of fresh water, food, and dry places to stand or lay will stress livestock and fowl who survived Lili's initial blow. Diseased plants and animals will force producers and families who have pets to make unpleasant decisions. Electrical power has not been fully restored in all the south coast parishes.
The path of Hurricane Lili insured that all of Cuba, and especially the Isle of Youth and the province of Pinar del Rio, would receive some rainfall to help ease this year's dryness. Unfortunately, western Cuba has suffered a severe blow to its agricultural activities, as Hurricane Lili came ashore just as workers were attempting to salvage what crops and facilities remained from Isidore a week earlier. Although harvesting of ripened fruit, particularly bananas, reportedly had been ordered in advance of Lili, powerful winds and driving rain are said to have destroyed harvesting equipment and numerous storage facilities on the Isle of Youth and in the province of Pinar del Rio.
Hispaniola
The Dominican Republic and Haiti were slightly affected by Hurricane Lili, but without the damage seen on the islands of Cuba and Jamaica. Large areas of Hispaniola had experienced below-normal rainfall this year and last, and producers hoped the tropical storm season would bring much needed rains.
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