Tea Time: Catastrophic Hurricanes in the Caribbean: Examining the Anatomy and Coloniality of Disaster

Speaker: Haitian colleagues

The Teatime presentation focused on the impact of the recent hurricane on colleagues in the Caribbean. In 2025, parts of the Caribbean were severely affected by Hurricane Melissa, which caused major damage to homes, infrastructure, livelihoods, and essential services. The purpose of this Teatime was to create a space for colleagues to share what the hurricane had done to their communities, how people were affected, and how the government and other institutions responded in the aftermath.

The discussion also placed the recent hurricane within the longer history of hurricanes in the Caribbean. Rather than treating the disaster as an isolated event, the Teatime reflected on how Caribbean societies had repeatedly confronted hurricanes and other climate-related disasters, and how questions of vulnerability, preparedness, inequality, recovery, and resilience shaped these events.

Overall, the Teatime allowed the network to understand colleagues' lives in the Caribbean better while reflecting on how the GPN community might offer meaningful support.

This is an internal GPN event, but if you are interested, please contact Omphulusa Nengwekhulu – omphulusa.nengwekhulu[at]ru[dot]ac[dot]za