I remember in 6th Grade when sir Talip, during a science class, told us that Guyana cannot be hit by hurricanes because it is out of the hurricane belt. Sir Talip, by the way, taught me at the Common Entrance Level at Rose Hall Primary in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice. He is doubtless one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever encountered, but I’ll talk more about that later.
To say “never” is a bold statement, and it is certainly not advisable. After all, we live in a world where anything is possible, and the bible reiterates that, “all things are possible with God.” I”m sure almost everyone is familiar with the age-old adage “never say never.” Nevertheless, what I wish to express by this headline is that the chances of the populated areas of Guyana being hit by a hurricane is so infinitesimally small that we may very well consider it a near-impossibility. While nothing is impossible, we can say that it is highly improbable.
Guyana lies outside of the Caribbean Hurricane Belt. That means that, while many CARICOM Island countries are at risk of being ravaged by hurricanes, Guyana is not.
CARICOM countries within the Caribbean and regional belt of major hurricanes. CARICOM nations are highlighted in light brown; major hurricane belt emphasized in dark blue. The map was created in ArcGIS 10.2.2 software (ESRI Inc., Redlands, CA, USA) using data from the paths of tropical cyclones and major hurricanes from 1851 to 2004 (available at: http://www.mapcruzin.com/natural-disaster-shapefiles/hurricane-arcgis-shapefile-download.htm). Hurricane belt estimated using a 100-km buffer.
Image: Research Gate (Reproduced Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)
In the recent past, we’ve witnessed hurricanes that passed frighteningly close to Guyana, but which nevertheless failed to make direct landfall in Guyana. Below are some examples.
Hurricane Elsa
Hurricane Elsa formed in the Caribbean Sea around June 30th, 2022 and lasted until July 10th, 2022. Traveling at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the hurricane hit Barbados on July 1st, 2022 and passed 241 km northwest of Mabaruma the same day.
Hurricane Bonnie
Hurricane Bonnie formed in the Caribbean Sea around June 27th, 2022 and lasted until July 11th, 2022. Traveling at a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour, the hurricane passed through uninhabited areas of the Barima-Waini Region of Guyana but did not affect populated areas.
Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian formed in the Caribbean Sea around September 19th, 2022 and lasted until October 2nd, 2022. Traveling at a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour, the hurricane hit Trinidad and Tobago on September 21st, 2022 and passed 91 km north of Mabaruma on the same day.
Hurricane Julia
Hurricane Julia formed in the Caribbean Sea around October 2nd, 2022 and lasted until October 10th, 2022. Traveling at a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour, the hurricane hit Trinidad on October 4, 2022 and passed 219 km north of Mabaruma on October 5th.
Hurricane Franklin
Hurricane Franklin formed in the Caribbean Sea around August 18th, 2023 and lasted until September 1, 2023. Traveling at a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour, the hurricane hit Barbados around 2:00 am on August 19 and passed 200 km north of Mabaruma later the same day.
