Here in the Dominican Republic, we have a large number of coconut trees. They add charm and character to the beaches they border. They are often depicted on tourist postcards and are displayed as an inspiring backdrop to many of the photographs that are taken. Regardless, tourists are often told not to sit under coconut trees to avoid falling coconuts that could be dangerous. You will even see signs that say, “Watch out for falling coconuts.”
You will also see coconut groves growing in agricultural fields as a cash crop to sell locally and for export. A single coconut palm can produce between 50 and 150 coconuts a year and the Dominican Republic is one of the main exporters of fresh coconuts.
With all of this in mind, I have seen questions like the following posted on the internet:
1. Can falling coconuts kill you?
2. Can flying coconuts kill you during a hurricane?
3. Do people really die from falling coconuts?
I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but the short answer is “yes” to the 3 questions above.
Before I explain further, I want to mention that Punta Cana, the most popular tourist destination in the Dominican Republic, is often referred to as “La Costa del Coco”. This is because the entire 30-40 mile stretch of Punta Cana’s coastline is lined with wind-sculpted coconut trees. As an eco-tourism operator, I often take guests from Punta Cana on day trips to nearby Saona Island, which is also lined with coconut trees, so I’m sure you can understand my interest in this topic of dangers. potential due to falling coconuts and flying coconuts.
There was actually a peer-reviewed scientific study conducted in 2002 to determine bodily injury due to being struck by a coconut while sitting under a coconut palm tree. In the scholarly article that emerged from this study, Dr. Peter Barss, a Canadian physician, reported two deaths and several serious head injuries due to the impacts of falling coconuts. Some of these head injuries were serious enough to render people unconscious and put them into a coma. He was quite familiar with these cases as he worked as a doctor in the tropics for years and personally treated many patients who had been struck by coconuts.
From Dr. Barss’s study, it was calculated that if a coconut palm tree is 25 meters tall (over 82 feet tall) and a 2 kilogram coconut (that’s 4.4 a pound of coconut) falls from this height, when it hits, it would. hit at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, that’s roughly 50 miles per hour! Some coconut trees grow to 35 meters tall (about 115 feet tall). No wonder a downed coconut can kill or seriously injure you!
So what happens to the flying coconuts picked up by a hurricane?
Well, consider this. A simple Category 1 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of over 74 miles per hour! A Category 5 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of over 155 miles per hour! It is not difficult to deduce that a coconut flying at this speed can kill you if it hits you in the skull.
Consider this: 155 miles per hour is the same speed as a really fast Andy Roddick tennis serve and I have seen professional super tennis player Roger Federer duck into them. Instead of a soft little tennis ball hurtling towards you, imagine what a 4-5 pound rock-hard coconut missile could do if you didn’t crouch in time.
This explains why football helmets are sometimes added to hurricane preparedness kits in the Caribbean. It never hurts to protect the skull during a tropical storm. This is also why you should always pay attention to any instructions given to you on how to take cover during a hurricane warning! Make sure to stay away from windows too because those coconut shell missiles can easily get through glass.
In the tropics, you’ll often see crews of highway workers and homeowners picking coconuts when a hurricane is expected to hit. It’s interesting to think of something as picturesque as the beautiful coconut palm tree becoming so dangerous, but it can happen and you should always keep it in mind.
We often see comedy routines that feature a coconut hitting someone on the head while napping under a coconut tree, but consider what Dr. Barss said in an interview: “It may sound funny from our perspective, but when you’re treating these injuries on a daily basis is not funny at all. “
Keep in mind that the number of people killed per year from coconut drop has been greatly exaggerated on the internet. The idea that more people die from falling coconuts than from sharks was a completely made-up story, with numbers (150 per year) drawn from a hat. There is no real science or statistics to back it up. However, having said that, you should still avoid lounging under coconut trees, especially in strong wind conditions.
So when traveling to the Dominican Republic or anywhere else in the tropics where there are coconut trees, be sure to maintain a healthy respect for the coconut palm tree while enjoying its beauty. Above all, be sure to try a fresh coconut straight from the tree. It is a force of nature in more ways than one.