In The Wake Of Hurricane Gustav
He came, he saw, he conquered…Hurricane Gustav on the Caribbean, that is. This second major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season has caused casualties and estimated billions of US dollars in damages. Many regard Gustav as one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the United States, with over three thousand combined deaths in the US and the Caribbean. Consequently, another heavy casualty of this disastrous 125 MPH, Category 3 hurricane is the tourism industry.
On August 26, 2008, a tropical depression that started from the Lesser Antilles made its way to Haiti, gaining strength until hurricane hunter aircrafts had to pronounce its 90 MPH winds a full-blown hurricane. From Haiti, Gustav continued moving toward Jamaica, and then to Cuba, and then to the Gulf of Mexico, gaining more strong, sustained winds as it went. It passed Louisiana, and then downgraded to a tropical depression once more over the Mississippi Valley, severely flooding it in the process.
One can just imagine the blows that the tourism industry experienced while this tyrannical force of nature was wreaking havoc all over the place. Areas that are particularly vulnerable to flooding and landslides such as Haiti had to prepare in advance for the devastation sure to hit its people and properties. Storm shelters were prepared, major flights were cancelled, and the red alert issued to Haitians to get ready for evacuation was issued. The results ranged from stranded travellers in airports to businesses closing earlier than usual through to deforested mountains. Meanwhile, in Jamaica, major cruise lines chose to divert ships to avoid maritime mishaps during the storm, while its disaster preparedness organization pulled out all the stops to launch a hurricane watch to alert its people in case evacuation is needed to be done. On August 27, the Cayman Islands government closed down most offices to give time for its residents to prepare for the storm. Businesses came to a full stop as people boarded up their windows and roofs, using free plywood supplied by district offices.
But it is in Cuba and Louisiana where Hurricane Gustav seemed to have done the most damage. Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated as Gustav transformed into a Category 4 hurricane, destroying 90,000 homes and knocking down almost a hundred high voltage towers. Louisiana seemed to mirror these storm statistics. While Gustav was still in Haiti, evacuations were already under way for what the New Orleans mayor called “the storm of the century”. Literally every tourism venture stopped in New Orleans, because all decks on hand were needed for what will go down in history as Louisiana’s biggest evacuation task force: an estimated 1.9 million people, 200,000 of which were New Orleans residents alone. Perhaps wary of a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, a concerted effort from the local government and the Louisiana National Guard transformed huge places of tourism such as the Louisiana Super Dome and the New Orleans Convention Center into emergency storm shelters.
The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav has left hundreds of properties damaged, thousands dead, and hundreds of thousands homeless. Perhaps still, these incredible statistics won’t be able to paint a picture of the real devastation that has occurred in these hard-hit places’ tourism industry.
