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Timeline of Hurricanes in St. Thomas
About St. Thomas:
St. Thomas is a small tourist friendly island in the Caribbean Sea surrounded by beautiful wildlife and filled with diverse cultures from around the world. It has a population of about 50,000 people. The island was a Danish territory until the U.S. bought it in the year of 1917 for 25 million dollars. It makes up the U.S Virgin Islands along with St. Croix, St. John, and Water Island.
The island is 32 square miles and is filled with historical and modern activities from the red and bright Fort Christian that has been standing since 1680 where you can learn about how life was 100+ years ago to the Skyride that stands to a height of 700 feet so that you can observe the beautiful scenes that St. Thomas has in store for you. St. Thomas holds one of the most famous and beautiful beaches in the world. The beach, Magens Bay, is used by hundreds of tourists and locals every day for recreational, pleasurable, and sun-bathing uses.
About Hurricanes in the Virgin Islands:
A hurricane passes by the islands about every three years around June 1st to November 30th. A hurricane actually targets the islands every eight years. The hurricane wind speeds per hour vary from 39 mph to 74 mph which is a Category 1 hurricane. The most recent hurricanes (Irma & Maria) surpassed the common wind speeds and had wind speeds from 155 mph to 185 mph (Category 4 to Category 5). Global warming could be a factor for why the hurricanes were so strong because of the rapid climate change. The two last hurricanes were only two weeks apart and caused about 15% of the population of the territories to leave and about 33,000 of remaining citizens to apply for Federal Assistance. The hurricanes left the 73% of its citizens with no power for about 3 months. Though the hurricanes did not cause many deaths while passing the islands, they left many people homeless, hungry, and hopeful for civil lives again. The hurricanes made people understand and be grateful towards all the benefits they had before the hurricanes and now have that they took for granted. Overall, the hurricanes were lessons and obstacles that the Virgin Islanders overcame.
