Few places in the world are as familiar with hurricanes as the island of Hispaniola. Shared by Haiti in the west and the Dominican Republic in the east, Hispaniola isn’t just one of the areas most visited by tropical weather systems. Long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, whose actual birth name was Cristoforo Colombo, the Taíno natives used the word “hurakan” for the vicious storms that pounded the island during summertime.
Column: Island of Hispaniola faces frequent hurricanes