Barbados' Biggest Hazards: Final Conclusions

After extensive research, it is in my educated opinion that Barbados' biggest natural hazards are mass wasting and coastal hazards such as beach erosion. As a tropical island nation, they are extremely vulnerable to the negative effects brought on by climate change. Barbados is a country built upon the rise of coral reefs, but climate change, deforestation, and pollution caused by tourism are all contributing to the death of coral reefs. While the number has since increased, at one point in time Barbados only had one sewage treatment facility, and that was not enough to handle the demand of the island during tourist season. This caused domestic sewage runoff to go into the ocean and kill the coral reefs. Without these reefs, there's nothing stopping large scale waves from crashing on the shore and causing destruction on the beaches. Barbados is already a small island, only 166 square miles, and beach erosion is causing beaches to decrease in size by about a foot per year. Barbados' other main concern is mass wasting, specifically landslides. Climate change has caused both the hot, dry season and the wet season to be more extreme. When the soil gets more dry, it's harder for it to absorb all the water that comes during the commonly seen tropical storms. This causes landslides mostly in the northeastern part of the island known as the Scotland District and makes land unusable for agriculture. As climate change worsens. the soils ability to adjust to and absorb seasonal rainfall worsens, as does Barbados' ability to produce some of their necessary crops that they export such as sugarcane and cotton. 
The main reason I am addressing both coastal erosion and mass wasting as Barbados' main hazards is because they are a country that relies heavily on tourism and agricultural exports. In fact, in 2017 Barbados brought in $1.06 billion U.S. dollars from tourism. If coastal erosion causes beaches to be less usable, and mass wasting to cause agriculture production to decrease, then what will Barbados be left with? The answer is a struggling economy. My solution for the coastal erosion issue would be to install more efficient and new sewage treatment facilities to be able to handle the demand created by large scale developments that have been built to increase tourism such as condominiums and vacation resorts. In regards to mass wasting, my opinion is that Barbados needs to put money into moving their agriculture to other areas that aren't at risk for landslides. They should put money into researching and doing soil quality testing in other areas of the island besides the northeastern part to see if it is possibly to grow elsewhere. Because of their vulnerability, I would target the coast and the agricultural growing areas such as the Scotland District to help first.
If I were to move to Barbados and build a home, I would avoid building directly on the coast, as sea level rise is an issue. The west coast specifically, also known as the Platinum Coast" suffers from horrible beach erosion, only exacerbated by the continued development of luxury condos and resorts. Barbados' Coastal Zone Management Unit, which is a government agency dedicated to controlling coastal erosion, stated that they believe global warming is the cause of Barbados' beach erosion, but I am of strong belief that the construction of sea groins and pollution from tourists is also a huge contributor. For those reasons I would avoid building a home on the west coast of Barbados. I would also not build on any areas of high elevation as those areas could be effected by landslides. 


Sources: https://www.oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea59e/ch37.htm
https://theodora.com/wfbcurrent/barbados/barbados_economy.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/814750/barbados-tourism-revenue/
https://coastalcare.org/2011/02/last-chance-beach-battling-erosion-in-barbados/

Coastal Hazards in Barbados

As an island nation, Barbados is no stranger to coastal hazards. Barbados suffers from beach erosion, mostly due to climate change. The economy heavily relies on tourism, but coincidentally that is also the biggest contributor to the pollution and erosion that Barbados is suffering from. Like many other coastal areas, climate change has brought on sea level rises and a slough of other issues. Barbados is only 166 square miles to begin with and it's losing a foot of beach each year. Coral reefs are a major part of the landscape of Barbados, and they're rapidly deteriorating due to pollution caused by domestic sewage, as well as climate change and deforestation. Without the protective barrier that the coral reefs provide, the force of waves is extremely powerful and destructive to the beaches. The beaches are also covered in rocks that are actually dead pieces of coral. In order to try to mitigate effects of climate change, the Barbados Coastal Conservation Program has stepped in. The BCCP has put programs in place that put years of research and surveys into use in order to create programs and management plans that fight coastal erosion and pollution. They've created solid waste disposal plants and sewage treatment plants that cut down on erosion. 

Sources: https://coastalcare.org/2011/02/last-chance-beach-battling-erosion-in-barbados/
http://www.coastal.gov.bb/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-09-07-8901100984-story.html
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Beach-erosion-in-Barbados_fig1_234038862

Extreme Weather in Barbados

Barbados is an island in the Caribbean and thus has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year-round, slightly cooling in the months of December-June because of the northeastern trade winds. The wet season occurs from July-December causing a slough of natural hazards to occur such as erosion, flooding, landslides, etc. As a tropical island, Barbados is at high risk for heat waves. In the summer of 2019, citizens were warned to be careful of heat stroke and even death, and the country was at risk for forest fires and drought. In order to warn its citizens, Barbados worked with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to learn the risks associated with a heat wave and how to stay safe. As climate change is a worsening issue, Barbados continues to stay informed and prepared for more heat waves and natural hazards.

Sources: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/caribbean/bb-climate.htm

https://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/240734/heat-wave-warning-caribbean

Mass Wasting in Barbados

Barbados does experience mass wasting, better known as landslides, mostly on the northeast part of the island known as the Scotland district. Landslides in this area make some land unusable for agriculture as well as blocking roads. The Eocene sediments are the greatest contributor to mass wasting as they are prone to soil creep. The Boscobel Landslip of 1901 was the greatest landslide in Barbados' history as there was approximately 10 million cubic meters of displaced sediment. Barbados was also at high risk for landslides and flooding in 2016 because the soil had gotten extremely dry during El Niño and when it's counterpart La Niña was expected to bring heavy rains, the soil wouldn't be able to absorb all of it. Barbados is taking full advantage of the latest technology in order to be able to make decisions up to six months in advance based on seasonal forecasts. They are using this time to prepare and mitigate impacts from mass wasting, and they also make sure to warn citizens to brace for these hazards.

Sources: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/uds/Land_Barbados.html
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10346-013-0423-3
https://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/77908/caribbean-prepare-landslides-flooding

Volcanoes in Barbados

The island of Barbados itself is not a volcanic island, but since it is located in the Eastern Caribbean near many volcanic islands such as St. Kitts and Grenada, it suffers from the aftermath of volcanic eruptions like falling ash and tsunamis. There are 19 active volcanoes in the Eastern Caribbean including Kick 'Em Jenny.

Kick 'Em Jenny is an active submarine volcano located 260 km southwest of Barbados. It was first discovered in 1939 after an eruption caused an ash cloud to rise over the ocean and be seem by people on the island. While difficult to monitor due to the fact that it's underwater, 13 eruptions have been noted since 1939 causing minor tsunamis in Grenada.

Although Barbados is not a volcanically active country, it is near many volcanoes, and therefore they make sure to educate citizens on what to do in the event of an earthquake. They also monitor all seismic activity very closely.

Sources: http://uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=46
https://geology.com/volcanoes/kick-em-jenny/
https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1162:risk-management-a-barbados&Itemid=812&lang=en
https://www.oas.org/pgdm/document/BITC/papers/gibbs/gibbs_02.htm

Earthquakes in Barbados

Barbados deals with many small earthquakes as a result of being located in a subduction zone. It has had three earthquakes in the past year with a magnitude of 1.5 or greater and there was a M4.7 earthquake in Bridgetown this past year, which is the largest in its history. Because it doesn't have a history of large quakes, it is considered a medium risk for seismic activity. Barbados suffers from hurricanes than anything else, which will be further discussed in future posts. While earthquakes aren't preventable it seems like Barbados is doing what they can by educating citizens on how to deal with them when they happen, and also having experts monitor earthquake patterns so they can hopefully be prepared.

Sources: https://earthquaketrack.com/p/barbados/recent
http://thinkhazard.org/en/report/24-barbados/EQ
https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/%E2%80%98barbados-not-immune-earthquakes%E2%80%99

Barbados and Tectonic Plates

Barbados is located along the edges of the Caribbean and South American plates, which makes it a subduction zone. Being located on a subduction zone means that Barbados is at high risk for earthquakes, volcanoes, and even tsunamis. Barbados quite literally arose from the shifting of one tectonic plate under another, causing oceanic sediments to rise. This is also the reason that there are so many coral reefs in Barbados. While Barbados is beautiful, and the birthplace of Rihanna (fun fact!), it is at high risk for natural hazards and therefore you should take precautions if you decide to vacation there. 

Sources: https://traveltips.usatoday.com/major-landforms-puerto-rico-104764.html
https://www.barbadospocketguide.com/our-island-barbados/geology.html

Comparing Earth Disasters and Catastrophes Caused by Natural Processes

While many people use the words "disaster" and "catastrophe" synonymously, there are actually some differences between the two. The main difference between the two is that disasters occur in a defined area and over a limited time whereas catastrophes are defined by the amount of time and money it takes to repair the damage created. In order to be considered a disaster, at least one of the following must be true: 10 or more people are killed, 100 or more people are affected, international assistance is required, or a state of emergency has been declared. Disasters and catastrophes are caused by natural processes such as earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc. These natural processes turn into hazards when humans are in their path, and these hazards can happen anywhere.