Hurricane Irma

Irma’s first landfall in Barbuda brought almost complete devastation to the island, resulting in close to 95 percent destruction of buildings. Critical infrastructure in Barbuda was decimated with the total loss of communications, severe damage to the only hospital on the island and to the runway at the lone airport. As a result, the neighboring island of Antigua had to be used as a staging point for people and equipment to be moved to Barbuda by helicopter or boat.

As Irma moved through the Caribbean, it left a similar trail of devastation in its wake. On Sint Maarten, up to 95 percent of structures destroyed, including massive damage to the Princess Juliana International Airport. Throughout the Leeward and Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Haiti and the Dominican Republic, communications, electricity and transportation infrastructure were all severely damaged. Even places where the hurricane did not make landfall were severely affected by strong winds and heavy rains, which led to flooding and landslides.

In the United States, Irma devastated the Florida Keys, causing them to be closed to all tourism and non-residents for almost a month, before moving up along the coast. Irma brought down trees and destroyed structures along the Gulf Coast of Florida as it moved toward the U.S. interior. Gale force winds and heavy rains caused damage throughout the state, and up through Georgia, before finally weakening. Ultimately, Irma caused $50 billion in damages in the U.S. alone.

Irma killed at least 92 people in the United States and 134 in total. One of the most notable impacts of Hurricane Irma was the deaths of twelve residents of the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center. Located in the city of Hollywood, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, this skilled nursing facility lost power when Irma’s winds disrupted the electrical system across the state. Although the facility had an emergency generator for backup power, it had been inoperable for a number of years.

Partial power was restored to the building, enough that the building was able to run fans and small air conditioning units, but not enough to run the building’s main air conditioning system. As a result, the temperatures in the building continued to climb. Because the maintenance and medical staff were unfamiliar with the operation of these individual air conditioning units, they inadvertently directed the exhaust heat back into the building, causing the temperatures on the second floor to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).

Ultimately, twelve deaths were directly attributed to the increased heat in the building, and a further twenty residents were immediately admitted to the adjacent hospital when the rehabilitation center was evacuated. As a result of these deaths, laws and licensing requirements were changed all over the world to ensure that safe temperatures could be maintained in assisted care, skilled care and other supportive residences. This is an important example of how disasters can teach responders what to do differently. Supporting these new initiatives is an important investment for philanthropy as safety improvements are often under-funded.

In the United States, Irma devastated the Florida Keys, causing them to be closed to all tourism and non-residents for almost a month, before moving up along the coast. Irma brought down trees and destroyed structures along the Gulf Coast of Florida as it moved toward the U.S. interior. Gale force winds and heavy rains caused damage throughout the state, and up through Georgia, before finally weakening. Ultimately, Irma caused $50 billion in damages in the U.S. alone.

Irma killed at least 92 people in the United States and 134 in total. One of the most notable impacts of Hurricane Irma was the deaths of twelve residents of the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center. Located in the city of Hollywood, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, this skilled nursing facility lost power when Irma’s winds disrupted the electrical system across the state. Although the facility had an emergency generator for backup power, it had been inoperable for a number of years.

Partial power was restored to the building, enough that the building was able to run fans and small air conditioning units, but not enough to run the building’s main air conditioning system. As a result, the temperatures in the building continued to climb. Because the maintenance and medical staff were unfamiliar with the operation of these individual air conditioning units, they inadvertently directed the exhaust heat back into the building, causing the temperatures on the second floor to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).

Ultimately, twelve deaths were directly attributed to the increased heat in the building, and a further twenty residents were immediately admitted to the adjacent hospital when the rehabilitation center was evacuated. As a result of these deaths, laws and licensing requirements were changed all over the world to ensure that safe temperatures could be maintained in assisted care, skilled care and other supportive residences. This is an important example of how disasters can teach responders what to do differently. Supporting these new initiatives is an important investment for philanthropy as safety improvements are often under-funded.