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Discuss the Social and Economic Impact of Natural Disasters on the Caribbean.

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Discuss the Social and Economic Impact of Natural Disasters on the Caribbean.
Natural disasters may be defined as natural catastrophes which cause great damage by disrupting the functioning of a society thus rendering the country incapable of coping through using its own resources as there is a need for outsider assistance in order to effectively preserve lives and the environment. Conversely, Natural hazards are natural phenomena that are potential threats to people within a society, structures or economic assets and may cause disaster. Natural disasters are inevitable and ubiquitous worldwide. Within the Caribbean, they are chiefly present in the forms of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, and volcanoes. The great damages caused by natural disasters may be divided into three categories: social, economic and environmental. However, this essay will address the social and economic impact of these natural disasters on the Caribbean. In regards to the essay, Hurricanes (with special emphasis being placed on Hurricane Ivan) and floods as well as two Caribbean territories, Jamaica and Haiti will be utilized respectively. The following points will be discussed in terms of hurricane: loss of lives and homelessness, disruption of communities, employment (social impact) process of money being diverted into relief activities and reconstruction, Gross Domestic Product (economic impacts). Conversely points that will be discussed for flooding are: food shortage and the contamination of water, loss of homes (social impacts) and the overall impact on the economy as well as assistance received from outsiders (economic impacts).
A Hurricane is a low-pressure tropical cyclone which usually makes its first appearance in the eastern Pacific and in the tropical Atlantic. It commences its life as a rudimentarily defined weather system or as a cluster of thunderstorms. As long as converging winds, low wind shears and warm sea surface temperatures exist, the air is transmitted towards the edge of the system from the centre of the system. Subsequently,
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