Hurricane Irma devastated the Caribbean, causing fatalities and millions in material losses in its path, and one of the emblematic bird species of this region has also been severely affected.

What words to choose to comment on this tragedy? How to describe the pain? How to comfort and console? How to give encouragement in such indescribably difficult times?

Nature seems to give no respite... After the passage of 'Harvey', now millions of people are suffering the horrors left in its wake by Hurricane Irma, one of the most devastating hurricanes ever seen in the Caribbean; a category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which has swept through the Caribbean with unprecedented intensity, has caused millions of losses in several of the affected islands and a balance of victims that is still growing, directly impacting countries such as Antigua, Barbuda St. Martin, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, the north coast of Haiti, which has yet to recover from the passage of Cyclone Matthew last year, Cuba and the Florida Peninsula, Florida. It has directly impacted countries such as Antigua, Barbuda, St. Martin, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, the north coast of Haiti, which is still not recovering from last year's Cyclone Matthew, Cuba and the Florida Peninsula.

Trayectoria del huracán Irma

First of all, I would like to send my sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims and wish them the strength to overcome this tragedy of epic proportions, as well as to urge everyone to practice the true meaning of solidarity from their field of action and possibilities.
"Our human spirit demands without delay solidarity and union among peoples and nations, beyond the differences that might separate them."
Augusto Roa Ba

In these terrible moments, reflection obliges us to internalize that although in these tragedies of great proportions the pain caused by human suffering is paramount, nature, the conservation of the world and the survival of its species, including that of the human race, is seriously threatened. If there is still anyone who doubts the forecasts of ecologists and meteorologists who predict the increase in number and activity of natural phenomena to devastating proportions. These phenomena prove it.
To conclude this note, I will use information that arrived today on my Facebook shared by friends who have dedicated their lives to the conservation of birds and their ecosystems in the Caribbean. It is a graphic sample, which although small, will make us think about the consequences that these phenomena bring to the environment in which we live and how to help minimize them.

Eric Carey, Director of the Bahamas National Trust, "Mangroves matter, as do other natural systems, including coral reefs, which help build resilience and provide natural barriers of defense, so conservation and sustainable, sensitive development is important."

Reports from Inagua today, the southernmost island of the Bahamas, mention how flamingos crouch behind the mangroves to survive the hurricane.
This behavior has also been observed by us in Cuba and Yucatan, in the presence of strong winds caused by tropical storms and previous hurricanes. The video that accompanies your commentary needs no words:

Mangroves matter, and #ScienceMatters conservation.org/earthday

Posted by Conservation International on Monday, April 17, 2017

A picture is worth a thousand words

We invite you to watch the shocking images in the video of dead flamingos in Cayo Coco, north of Cuba by journalist Dianelys Marín, from the avileño media Radio Surco. We are convinced that they will not be the only ones. In the review of the different zones of the coastal municipalities in Cuba, to evaluate the damages caused by Irma, more cases of deaths of this species will appear, and the same will surely happen in other Caribbean countries.

#RadioCubana #RadioSurco: Thousands of dead flamingos on the sides of the pedraplén. #HuracanIrma #CayoCoco.

Posted by Dianelys Marín Dewar on Sunday, September 10, 2017

We strongly encourage ornithologists in these countries, who are in the process of accounting for hurricane damage, to share information on the effects on coastal ecosystems and particularly on this species, which is a shared natural heritage.

You can do so in the contact from our website. WWW.CaribbeanCoastConservancy.com, or to the following email address: xiomara@caribbeancoastconservancy.org

Thank you very much!

"I believe in the essential unity of all people and, in general, of everything that lives."
Mahatma Gandhi