While many Caribbean islands often bear the brunt

of powerful hurricanes, Barbados tends to be spared any widespread devastation.

In fact, the last storm that is retained in local memory as having a

catastrophic impact was Hurricane Janet in 1955. Passing south of the island as

a Category 3 hurricane on September 22, data from the Caribbean Disaster and

Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) indicated that Janet killed an estimated 32

people, destroyed 8 100 homes and left 20,000 homeless.

However, while Barbados has not since seen

devastation on that level, it has experienced some rough encounters with Mother

Nature. In fact, weather systems have not even had to reach hurricane strength

to inflict significant damage.

Here is a look at some major storms to impact

Barbados since Janet:

Tropical Storm Kirk (September 27, 2018)

TS Kirk brought over 10 inches of rainfall,

causing significant flooding and power outages in Barbados. Several people had

to be rescued from their homes.

Tropical Storm Harvey (August 17, 2017)

High winds and heavy rains damaged roofs and

caused extensive flooding, particularly in the north of the island. One house

was washed off its foundation, while rising waters entered homes and forced

some people to evacuate. Electricity outages affected several parishes across

the island.

Tropical Storm Tomas (October 30, 2010)

US$18.5 million was the cost to the Government of

Barbados to repair the over 1,000 homes that were damaged in the passage of

Tropical Storm Tomas. The south-central areas of the island were most impacted,

with roofs being ripped off, trees blow down and crops destroyed.

Hurricane Ivan (September 7, 2004)

What stands out for many residents was that

Barbados was expected to receive a direct hit, but at the eleventh hour, the

storm changed course and instead went onto cause widespread devastation in

Grenada. Nonetheless, in Barbados at least one death was attributed to

Hurricane Ivan, which caused an estimated US$5 million in damage. Over 500

houses sustained minor to major damage, with more than 175 being completely

destroyed. Many homes lost their roofs, trees were blown down and coastal roads

were damaged by storm surge.

Tropical Storm Lili (September 22, 2002)

According to CDERA (now CDEMA), St. Andrew, St. Philip, St. Lucy and Christ

Church were the parishes that were mainly affected. Over 400 housing units were

damaged, and there were 43 reports of fallen trees and utility poles resulting

in power outages and disruption in telephone service in many areas. Water supply

was also interrupted in some area due to a lack of electricity to operate the

pumps. There were also damages to the agricultural sector, particularly to

banana crops and poultry farms. Damages were estimated at nearly US$200,000.

Hurricane Allen (August 4, 1980)

Passing north of Barbados, Allen destroyed 35 homes and damaged more than

200. Some sources indicated that preliminary damage was estimated to be US$1.5

million.

Hurricane Edith (September 24, 1963)

Edith brought between 7–9 inches of rain to the island and damages totalled

US$145,000.