The CARIBBEAN PORTAL
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The Caribbean (Dutch: Caraïben; French: Caraïbes; Spanish: Caribe; Portuguese: Caribe or Caraíbas) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America. Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes. The West Indies consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas. Bermuda lies much further to the north in the Atlantic Ocean and is in the West Indies. Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of North America and are organised into 28 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories.
The Okeechobee Hurricane, or Hurricane San Felipe Segundo, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first recorded hurricane to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale in the Atlantic basin; as of 2006, it remains the only recorded hurricane to strike Puerto Rico at Category 5 strength, and one of the ten most intense ever recorded to make landfall in the United States.
The hurricane caused devastation throughout its path. As many as 1,200 people were killed in Guadeloupe. Puerto Rico was struck directly by the storm at peak strength, killing at least 300 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. In south Florida at least 2,500 were killed when storm surge from Lake Okeechobee breached the dike surrounding the lake, flooding an area covering hundreds of square miles. In total, the hurricane killed at least 4,078 people and caused around $100 million ($800 million in 2005 US dollars) in damages over the course of its path.
- ...that the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda is fungie (pronounced foon-gee), a dish very similar to the Italian Polenta made mainly from cornmeal?
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Credit: Adam L. Clevenger
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Sunrise over the south beach of Jamaica
- October 10 The Netherlands Antilles were dissolved. Sint Maarten & Curaçao became countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bonaire, Saba & Sint Eustatius became special municipalities within the Netherlands.
- September 22: Cuban leader Fidel Castro made his first TV appearance in three months, saying "Well, I'm still here," in an interview taped this week. (BBC NEWS)
- August 2: The talks between UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Haitian President Rene Preval in Port Au Prince appear to have been dominated by discussion of the continued presence of the UN peace keeping force there.(BBC NEWS)
- March 18: Trinidad and Tobago has backed the move by the Venezuelan Government to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Jamaica by 2009.(JAMAICAN GLEANER)
- March 12 : The 2007 Cricket World Cup opens at the Greenfield Stadium in Jamaica with a ceremony showcasing West Indian musicians including Sly and Robbie, Sean Paul, Kevin Lyttle, Alison Hinds and Jimmy Cliff.(BBC NEWS)
- March 7: Edwin Carrington, secretary general of the 12-member Caricom announces that the Caribbean Community intends to negotiate a free trade agreement with Central America, perhaps within the next six months.(JAMAICAN OBSERVER)
- March 1: The West Indies cricket team make final preparations for the oncoming Cricket world cup, which begins on March 13 at the newly completed Sabina Park in Kingston. (CRICKET WORLD CUP NEWS)
- Feb 28: President of Cuba Fidel Castro makes a surprise phone call to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's radio talk show Aló Presidente, and the two leaders converse live on air for thirty minutes. During the conversation, Castro declares that he now has "more energy and strength".(PRAVDA)
- Feb 28: United Nations troops move into slum areas of Haiti, where almost a quarter of a million people live, as part of a new "get tough" policy against the armed gangs. (BBC NEWS)
- Feb 22: The United States applauds a unanimous decision by the U.N. Security Council to extend the world body’s stabilization mission in Haiti for another eight months, to October 15, with the intention to renew for further periods. (MEDIA NEWSWIRE)
Selected geography article
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