On the Coast, a hurricane every century?

Abstract

The enormous damage done by Hurricane Joan on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua on October 22, 1988, stimulated the organization of an international expedition to the forests of the area, which became a reality in February 1989. The expedition was organized by CIDCA, with financial support from OX FAM-America (CIDCA, 1989).  The members of the expedition were impressed by the destruction of the primary forest caused by the hurricane. From the data we collected, the idea emerged that the typical structure of these forests depends on the effects of past hurricanes. An essential point for the evaluation of this thesis is the frequency of disturbance of the forest by hurricanes. Fortunately, the excellent book by Cortés and Fonseca (1988) includes a chapter on “Tropical cyclones and their effects in Nicaragua”, prepared by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER). This chapter presents the dates and trajectories of all tropical cyclones that have penetrated Nicaraguan territory since December 1887. This information gives us the basis for estimating the frequency of hurricane disturbance at a given point.