One of the Caribbean's most powerful and destructive hurricanes, hitting several Caribbean countries as well as the USA.
Hit the island of Grenada on 7th September 2004 with full force.
The storm was well organised with sharply defined eyes.
Winds of 200km per hour caused major damage, though rainfall was not as heavy as predicted as the storm moved through Grenada fairly rapidly.
Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The island was exposed to hurricane force winds for approximately 6 hours.
Loss of life was mitigated by the lack of rain and the hurricane's arrival during the day.
Affected the entire island of Grenada, especially the south.
Environmental Impacts
Streams flooded and debris piled up to block water flow, in areas such as bridges and culverts flooding was more pronounced.
Crop damage was nearly 100% for banana and sugar cane. Nutmeg and spice production infrastructure was seriously affected.
Landslides were uncommon, which attributes to the dry nature of the storm.
The Grand Etang forest reserve suffered extensive and severe damage. On inspection, an estimates 50% of canopy trees were on the ground.
Broken and uprooted trees blocked roads.
Social Impacts
The electrical distribution network and communications grid were the public utilities most affected by the storm.
The Princess Alice hospital (the island's second largest) was more than 70% destroyed.
Only 2 of the island's 75 primary and secondary schools survived with minimal damage.
Economic Impacts
In some cases, looting has further exacerbated the losses.
At the time, demand for services in the tourism sector was expected to drop over the coming 2-3 years.
The recreational boating industry was also expected to lose its safe-haven insurance status.
Other Effects
Thirty-seven people died from the effects of Hurricane Ivan on Grenada, before it continued around Jamaica to the USA.
Around 90% of houses were damaged or destroyed.
Most people were affected in some way, half being made homeless.
Water, power and telecommunications systems were disrupted, which was potentially a major health risk for the island.
Water was prioritised as the most basic health issue, and was efficient again within three weeks of the storm.
People lacked food, clean water and medical care.
Long Term Damage
Agriculture, tourism and infrastructure were badly hit and took much longer to repair and replace, and at much greater cost.
Even 10 years is not enough to catch up with what was destroyed by a major hurricane like Ivan, and poorer countries have a low tax base and individuals are usually without insurance to help them recover.