Among the 29 Caribbean SIDS, 22 were affected by at least one Category 4 or 5 TC in 2017. These events highlighted how the pre-cyclone high exposure and vulnerability of these islands and their populations has caused a 'cumulative community vulnerability'  that has amplified the impacts of these TCs, which will in turn increase the long-term vulnerability of affected islands. The exposure of these islands over their entire surface, combined with the concentration of people, infrastructure, utilities and public services in flood- prone coastal areas, inadequate housing, limited access to healthy food and transportation, and unpreparedness explains widespread-to- total devastation . The destruction of transport systems  and island supply chains , which heavily depend on ports, roads, power and communications, made rescue logistically complex, explaining the lack of freshwater, food supplies, medications and fuel on some islands for several weeks after the event. This cumulative vulnerability caused 'cascading public health consequences' , including delayed  mortality, physical injury during the clean-up and recovery phase and increased risk of chronic, vector-borne, contaminated water-related diseases as well as of mental sequelae .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report