Wow! In Puerto Rico, solar power microgrids boost hurricane resilience
ANASTASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, looks at how, as Puerto Rico seeks to improve power grid wiped out by hurricanes Maria and Fiona, solar microgrids will help keep the lights on…
Puerto Rico: Still recovering from Maria, Catholics assess Fiona’s blow to church buildings
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports that just as Catholic organisations were making progress on repairing a few dozen of the 1,000 Catholic buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Hurricane Fiona swept in…
No title, no problem: Land rights with digital maps, social media
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how new technologies are being employed in the fight for land rights for those without formal documentation…
Removable solar panels boost storm readiness in Dominica
London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation When Hurricane Maria flattened the Caribbean island of Dominica in 2017, the fierce storm left the country in the dark. “Everything was out. There was no electricity. The whole electrical grid was down,” recalled Williams Fitzroy, an engineer and inspector for the Ministry of Public Works. A view of rooftop […]
Rich and poor struggle to shoulder losses from devastating storms
Thomson Reuters Foundation The devastation caused by powerful storms is a growing threat to both poor and rich nations, propelling Caribbean islands to the top of a global index of countries most severely affected by weather disasters last year, researchers said on Tuesday. The US territory of Puerto Rico was ranked as the hardest-hit and […]
Quick facts – Five deadliest hurricanes as toll from Hurricane Maria raised
Thomson Reuters Foundation Puerto Rico has this week raised the official death toll from Hurricane Maria to nearly 3,000 following a study ordered by the governor of the US territory. The report found an estimated 2,975 deaths could be attributed directly or indirectly to Maria, the most powerful storm to hit the Caribbean island in […]
Hurricane-hit Dominica hurries to prepare for next storm season
Thomson Reuters Foundation Damaged homes from Hurricane Maria are shown in this aerial photograph taken over the island of Dominica on 19th September, 2017. PICTURE: Courtesy Nigel R Browne/Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency/Regional Security System. The Caribbean island of Dominica, still reeling from Hurricane Maria last September, is on the “frontline of the war on […]