The Storms Moved On. The Caribbean Islands Fear the Tourists Might, Too.

Back in 1989, after Hurricane Hugo hit the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Diva was in St. Thomas doing field work on the disaster.  She remembers that the local priorities were reconstruction of the port and resumption of business for the high-end jewelry stories and other tourist attractions.  They were of higher priority than reconstructing housing, which she thought was odd. But for a tourist-dependent economy, and a place with a mild climate, those priorities made sense.