Hurricane Erin: ‘One of the fastest intensifications on record’

By the Climate Centre

The IFRC Friday announced it had launched an emergency appeal for 3 million Swiss francs to support the Cape Verde Red Cross with the urgent humanitarian needs of 40,000 people affected by the storm that became Hurricane Erin last month.

Overnight on 10–11 August, this “unleashed devastating flash floods across Cape Verde, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people, with five others still missing,” the IFRC said in a press release issued jointly in the Cape Verde capital Praia, and Nairobi and Geneva.

At least 5,500 households were severely impacted, and the floods displaced 1,500 people in the northern Cape Verde island of São Vicente.

The government declared a state of emergency and two days of national mourning.

Arlindo Carvalho, President of the Cape Verde Red Cross, said Friday: “The scenes following the floods in São Vicente are heartbreaking. In just a few hours, the torrential rains turned streets into raging torrents, devastating everything in their path. Many families have lost everything.”

First hurricane

Erin, born as a tropical wave off West Africa on 9 August, became the first Atlantic hurricane of the year a week later as it tracked west, undergoing very rapid intensification into a Category 5 – “one of the fastest on record,” according to the US National Oceanic and Aeronautical Administration – in the eastern Caribbean.

“Since records began in 1851, there have only been 11 other Atlantic hurricanes that have had 145 mph winds or stronger by this point in the season – six of which date back to 1969, within the satellite era,” NOAA added.

Erin caused “dangerous surf and rip currents along much of the [US] East Coast,” NOAA said, before recrossing the Atlantic from west to east, dissipating south of Iceland.

The Climate Centre’s Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a lecturer at Columbia University specializing in remote sensing and early warning, said today: “Forecasting if, when and to what extent rapid intensification will occur remains elusive due to the many different factors in play.

“There is a need for improving forecasts of both rapid intensification and its subsequent impacts, but if done collaboratively with national met services new data could strengthen modelling for both the meteorological variables – wind, precipitation, storm surge – as well as the social and humanitarian impacts.”

IFRC Head of Delegation for Cape Verde, Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal, Alexandre Claudon de Vernisy, said Friday: “The scale of this disaster demands an urgent and robust response. It impacts every facet of life: shelter, food, water, sanitation, and livelihoods.

“The needs are vast, and immediate action is essential. With more rain forecast in the coming weeks, swift intervention is critical to avert further suffering.”

A major concern for the Red Cross is the collapse of Cape Verde’s central water supply system, leaving thousands without access to safe drinking water. “In a nation already struggling with prolonged drought and food insecurity, the disruption poses a severe threat of waterborne disease outbreaks,” the IFRC added.

#ReconstruirComEsperança

The IFRC released 566,000 Swiss francs from its disaster response emergency fund and specialist teams have also been deployed to reinforce local efforts.  

It now foresees a three-stage operation: immediate relief over the next three months followed by early recovery up to six months comprising cash, shelter, livelihoods, water, sanitation, hygiene, health promotion, psychosocial support; finally, a transition phase from six to nine months in, centred on “the integration of climate resilience approaches and long-term disaster preparedness and adaptation”.

The Cape Verde National Society launched a local campaign on 13 August, #ReconstruirComEsperança, to support affected people.

NOAA is continuing to forecast an above-normal hurricane season, with 13 to 18 named storms, of which up to nine could become full-blown hurricanes including up to five major hurricanes (winds of at least 111 mph). 

Red Cross teams across the Americas have been preparing to reduce risks and save lives during this hurricane season and beyond, especially in the most vulnerable nations of Central America like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Red Cross personnel help residents assess the damage after what become one of the fastest-intensifying hurricanes on record crashed through the Cape Verde archipelago last month. (Photo: Cape Verde Red Cross vias IFRC