The Ravages of Hurricane David - August 1979
Hurricane David, in August 1979, was the worst hurricane to hit Dominica in living memory. There have been several other destructive hurricanes over the years, among the worst were Edith in 1963 and the hurricane of 1930, but none as devastating as David. It killed 37 people, blew down or ripped the roof off houses leaving 75% of the 70,000 population homeless; and flooding rivers destroyed numerous bridges. The banana crop, the mainstay of the economy, was completely destroyed, and citrus and other crops were devastated. Within the rainforest zone, entire mountains were laid bare. People lived in tents and basements for months due to a shortage of construction workers to undertake the mountain of rebuilding which now confronted the island.
The destruction in the Botanic Gardens was no less severe. Trees that had taken a hundred years to reach their majestic maturity were felled in an instant, some were torn apart with only the shorn stems standing, broken branches, some massive, were everywhere. Many of these old trees had been brought from distant tropical and semi-tropical countries in Africa, Asia and South America, and had required years of careful and dedicated nurturing.
The wide, spreading, yellow Ficus, which stood opposite the wrought iron water fountain, had several branches broken, and died not long after; the tallest tree in the Gardens, a magnificent Panama Tree (Sterculia alata) was severely topped but survived; several of the large Saman trees (Samanea saman) around the cricket field suffered major damage and subsequently died, only one remains today; and the tall Litchi tree (Litchi chinensis) near the fish tanks was also damaged and died not long after. In addition, the Pistache Tree and its African Tulip (Spathodea campanulata) neighbor were demolished, and so were the Mangostein trees (Garcinia mangostana), the giant Eucalyptus, and numerous other wonderful and exotic trees.
Among all this carnage, one curiosity stood out – a yellow school bus was crushed beneath a falling giant Baobab. No one was in the bus at the time, but it was flattened totally, and, with the tree, remain today a bizarre testimony to the destructiveness that was Hurricane David.
The destruction in the Botanic Gardens was no less severe. Trees that had taken a hundred years to reach their majestic maturity were felled in an instant, some were torn apart with only the shorn stems standing, broken branches, some massive, were everywhere. Many of these old trees had been brought from distant tropical and semi-tropical countries in Africa, Asia and South America, and had required years of careful and dedicated nurturing.
The wide, spreading, yellow Ficus, which stood opposite the wrought iron water fountain, had several branches broken, and died not long after; the tallest tree in the Gardens, a magnificent Panama Tree (Sterculia alata) was severely topped but survived; several of the large Saman trees (Samanea saman) around the cricket field suffered major damage and subsequently died, only one remains today; and the tall Litchi tree (Litchi chinensis) near the fish tanks was also damaged and died not long after. In addition, the Pistache Tree and its African Tulip (Spathodea campanulata) neighbor were demolished, and so were the Mangostein trees (Garcinia mangostana), the giant Eucalyptus, and numerous other wonderful and exotic trees.
Among all this carnage, one curiosity stood out – a yellow school bus was crushed beneath a falling giant Baobab. No one was in the bus at the time, but it was flattened totally, and, with the tree, remain today a bizarre testimony to the destructiveness that was Hurricane David.
