2020 is going to be a busy hurricane season. All the more reasons to come to visit one of the Caribbean’s best kept secrets.
*Disclaimer: We don’t receive any endorsements from any articles we write or the recommendations we mention. Free Walking Tours Curaçao prides itself on giving an honest opinion from a local’s perspective, and we always try to imagine putting ourselves in your shoes.
2020 has been a bad year to say the least. You won’t be blamed for looking out the window and wondering what chapter of Revelations we are living in this month.
Just when lockdown orders are being lifted and travel restrictions ease up; Here comes a hurricane season on steroids!
according to the NOAA “An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected” and to put that into context: The season just started and already a record was broken for being the season to name 3 storms only 3 days after the start of the season
We won’t bore you with the science behind what caused the increase in storms (El Niño, warm water temperature etc.) However, what we are going to do is explain why you should still come to Curaçao.
First a little background on Hurricane season
In the Northern Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30. September is the most active month with the build-up starting around the end of August.
You probably heard of the devastating hurricanes like Dorian, Irma, Louis battering the Caribbean islands like Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, Anguilla, The Bahamas. What you might notice is that the ABC island’s (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao are pretty much never mentioned.
The reason for this, is that Curacao and our 2 neighbouring islands are outside of the hurricane belt, keeping us safe from the Hurricane’s wrath.
What is the Hurricane belt?
The Hurricane belt is an area in the Atlantic Ocean which is likely to get hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season. The area in question includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The only inhabited Caribbean islands not in the hurricane belt are Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Providencia Island, San Andrés, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
How safe is Curaçao? Some statistics…
A quick Wikipedia search of Hurricanes in the ABC Islands shows that Curacao was associated with just 10 storms, the last one being Hurricane Tomas in 2010. However, many of these only had minor flooding or wind gusts.
More so, we found this below image which shows the tracking of storms in the Caribbean since 1851 (that’s over a 150 years). Note: the red circle on the South of the image is where Curacao is approximately situated.
(source:wikipedia)
Another show of confidence that the islands have a relatively low risk of a Hurricanes is that numerous Cruise ships often change routes to include Curacao on the itinerary during the season. We tend see an increase of yachts docking in one of our many harbors, setting up shop for the remainder of the season.
In closing, while there are never any guarantees. Looking at statistics, it is a relative safe bet to plan your next vacation during hurricane season on Curacao.
If you have any questions or want to book a Free walking Tour you can reach out to us through our website, Facebook, Instagram or email us at freewalkingtours@gmail.com
Written by Alex Driesprong
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