Quakes and hurricanes: A deadly forecast for Latin America

Natural disasters, extreme weather events sap resources - especially for troubled Venezuela

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Hurricane Mitch, October, 1998. The ‘October Monster,’ Mitch was one of the strongest and most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record.

(Michael Molinski is a senior economist at Trendline Economics. He’s worked for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, and previously as a foreign correspondent and editor for Bloomberg News and MarketWatch.)

CARACAS, Venezuela (Callaway Climate Insights) — As Venezuela digs through the rubble from two back-to-back earthquakes that killed at least 1,500 people, new reports by meteorologists and environmental scientists paint a bleak picture for Latin America and the Caribbean, saying record-breaking temperatures, deadly floods, droughts and intensifying hurricanes are ahead.

Sea levels along Atlantic-facing coasts are rising faster than the global average and continuing ocean acidification and warming are compounding risks to marine ecosystems and fisheries, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization.

“The signs of a changing climate are unmistakable across Latin America and the Caribbean, from accelerating glacier loss and rising sea levels to rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, extreme heat, floods and drought,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

Last year, Hurricane Melissa swept through Jamaica in October 2025 as the first Category 5 hurricane on record to make landfall in Jamaica. It led to 45 deaths and economic losses of approximately $8.8 billion.

NOAA forecasts ‘super El Niño’