Geography
Trinidad and Tobago is a twin island state located at the southern most end of the Caribbean archipelago known as the West Indies. The islands are separated by 30 km with Trinidad being 11 km from the South American continent. The are of both islands is 5,128 km2 with Trinidad, the larger island making up 93% of the country's total area 1768 sq km. Tobago is approximately 300 sq km and lies north east of Trinidad. Both islands lie on the continental shelf of South America and are thus geologically considered to lie entirely in South America.
Both islands consist of a mixture of mountains and plains. On Trinidad there is the Northern Range which runs parallel with the north coast and has the island highest peak called El Tucuche (936 m), the Central Range and Montserrat Hills in the centre of the island and the Southern Range and Trinity Hills to the south of the island. Between these ranges are the areas of relatively flat land comprising the Caroni Plain in the north and the Naparima Plain in the south.
Half of the island of Tobago has a mountainous region to the northeast while the the other half rolls out to a plain in the south-west. This mountainous region which culminates at Pigeon Peak, the island's highest point at 550 metres also comprises the oldest forest reserve in the western hemisphere.
Quite naturally, these mountainous regions would generate rivers across the islands. Trinidad has 23 rivers with 20 associated tributaries while Tobago has 13 rivers with 2 tributaries.
Weather and ClimateTrinidad and Tobago's close proximity to the equator enables the country to have two climate types producing two opposing seasons. These are the dry season which runs from January to May followed by the wet season. During the dry season, the relatively low humidity and reduced rainfall results in dry conditions and a rise in the frequency of bush fires. Trinidad’s geographical location puts it on the southern periphery of the North Atlantic hurricane basin. As such, Trinidad is not affected directly by storms as frequent as Tobago; however, weather associated with the passage of tropical storm systems impacts Trinidad and Tobago similarly.
Hazzards
Earthquakes
Trinidad and Tobago, and the surrounding region is a very seismically active area due to subduction and strike-slip faults associated with the transverse boundary of the South American and Caribbean plate. Since 1990, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre records an annual average of 280 earthquakes in the Trinidad and Tobago region Of these quakes, 50 of these events are on average, above magnitude 3.5.
Tsunamis
In the past 500 years there have been ten confirmed earthquake-generated tsunamis in the Caribbean Basin with four causing fatalities. An estimated 350 people in the Caribbean were killed by these events. The Eastern Caribbean islands lie in a setting where major structural changes are occurring in the Earth’s crust. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides as well as distant sources across the Atlantic could generate tsunamis that can affect these islands. Since the islands lie in an area of relatively high earthquake activity for the Caribbean, the most likely tsunamis to affect the Eastern Caribbean are those which can be triggered by shallow earthquakes (<50km depth), in the region, greater than magnitude 6.5.
Trinidad and Tobago experienced tsunamis/‘tsunami-like’ events in 1795, 1825, 1831, 1991 and 1997. It is likely that the country could experience further events which may be caused by the eruption of Kick ’em Jenny in Grenada or earthquakes. In the Caribbean, the arrival time for a tsunami caused by local or regional sources is predicted to be less than 30 minutes to an hour. It is therefore critically important that persons, especially those living in vulnerable communities, to possess basic tsunami awareness that will enable them to evacuate and move to higher ground is a tsunami is coming.
Storms and Hurricanes
The hurricane season for the Caribbean extends from 1st June to 30th November, with Trinidad and Tobago being mostly affected during the period of August to September. While in Trinidad and Tobago the risk to hurricanes is minimal when comparison to other islands in the Caribbean, the potential to be hit by hurricanes still remains high.
During the period 1800 to 2019, Trinidad and Tobago was adversely affected by at least 10 Tropical Storms and Hurricanes resulting in loss of lives, livestock and destruction to property.
Fires
Bush fires are a common occurrence during the dry season and can be seen along hillsides and roadways. Although bush fires can occur naturally they are often augmented by fires that are deliberately or inadvertently set by human activity. Annually throughout the country, especially along hillsides and roadways, these hazards leave a discernable mark on the biological landscape.
Bush fires can be natural occurrences, however, each year, incidences of natural forest fires are augmented by occurrences of fires set deliberately or inadvertently by humans. Out of control ‘slash and burn’ agricultural practices, hunters lighting areas to flush animals out of hiding places and careless tossing of cigarettes out of car windows are common ways in which bush fires can result.
