Exposure of the Colombian Caribbean coast, including San Andrés Island, to tropical storms and hurricanes, 1900–2010

Abstract

An analysis of the exposure of the Colombian Caribbean coast to the effect of tropical storms and hurricanes was conducted using historical records from between 1900 and 2010. The Colombian Caribbean coast is approximately 1,760 km long, and the main coastal cities in this important region are Riohacha (RIO), Santa Marta (STA), Barranquilla (BAQ), and Cartagena (CTG). The surface extension of the Colombian Caribbean is almost 590,000 km2. The cumulative number of events was used to determine the exposure and to identify the most vulnerable zones on the continental coast of Colombia and in the country’s insular Caribbean. Although the Colombian Caribbean coast is not registered as a potentially vulnerable zone in international databases, there have been significant events in the region, some of which even hit land. The results show that the island of San Andres (SA) and the Department of Guajira are the zones most likely to be affected by storms in the Colombian Caribbean. Hurricane Joan in October of 1988 has been the most devastating event in the history of hurricanes in Colombian waters.