A Bad Year for Caribbean Corals

From Clive Wilkinson's report A Bad Year for Caribbean Corals posted on ReefBase:

The years 1998 and 2005 were the two most damaging years for coral reefs in recorded history. They were also the world's hottest years since records began in 1880. About 16% of the world's reefs were lost to coral bleaching in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific in 1998. Seven years on, unusually warm waters caused even worse coral bleaching, this time in the Caribbean where it was also a record year for hurricanes. Some of these hurricanes nevertheless had a silver lining: although they caused extensive damage, they also helped to save many corals by 'taking the heat off them'.