3.1.4 Hurricanes and destructive winds

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3 1 4 huracanes vientos
Tropical hurricanes and cyclones are among the most destructive natural phenomena. Between 2000 and 2009, 331 tropical storms caused the deaths of 10,004 people in the Americas


The number of people affected by the destructive winds and heavy rains from hurricanes is growing. 

However, the greatest impact on life and property is not from wind itself but from side effects such as floods and landslides—as seen in Hurricanes Georges and Mitch, which affected various Caribbean and Central American countries in 1998, Hurricane Ivan in the Caribbean in 2004, and Katrina in the United States in 2005. 

Hurricanes cause the destruction and collapse of infrastructure, with adverse effects on health in the form of injury, trauma, and drowning. 

They also impact the mental health of the affected population. In addition, they increase the risk that vector and water-borne diseases. The impact on health services can be extensive. 

The harm done depends on the intensity of the wind and on the quantity of rain. Health units in the developing countries are quite vulnerable, as was seen in the case of Hurricane Thomas, which left its mark on the infrastructure of Saint Vincent, and put a hospital out of commission in Saint Lucia, while leaving another accessible only by foot for some time.