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Homes have been inundated with fast rising water. Some residents have had to resort to using canoes to leave.
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Streets are covered in water.
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River and highway have joined, making travel and in some cases, evacuation, a nearly impossible task.
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Residents watching in disbelief as water engulfs their yards and homes.
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The San Ignacio Farmer’s Market was also under water.
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Over the last week, the nation of Belize has been experiencing record levels of flooding concentrated mostly in the western and southern parts of the country. With almost non-stop rains in the last few days, it has been rather grim for the residents that have evacuated their homes as the floods keep advancing. So far it has forced 66 Cayo residents to shelters whilst Calla Creek and Bullet Tree village are mostly inundated. Up to press time, of the fifty (50) families who occupied this area, ten were left homeless due to the rapid water levels. And, although the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is doing everything in their power to supply shelters and food, other parts of the Country including the northern parts are experiencing the same flood threat. And, while the communities of Calla Creek, Bullet Tree and to some extent Succotz are the most affected, that is only a part of this phenomenal downpour of rains. A gradual decrease in showers is expected over the next few days, but the rains were expected to continue until Wednesday (yesterday). Our colleagues at 7News reported that word coming out of the Hydrology Unit reveals that widespread flooding in northern and central Belize are expected whilst the waters were receding in the south. Over at Gracie Rock village, waters rose up to a whopping five feet over night and forced several families out of their homes. In the north, specifically, the Blue Creek area of Orange Walk District the water level had already surpassed the Mitch flood stage in 1998. The Hydrology Unit continued to advise all residents living in low lying areas to monitor and be ready to move just in case there is a need to evacuate. In the central region, the Belize River had swollen and was expected to rise more as the waves of flood waters headed in its direction. The Northern Highway was also being closely monitored as parts of the road were expected to flood. Two areas of concern were the stretch of road by the Williamson sewing factory and Crystal Auto Rental just past the Haulover Bridge.
According to the Hydrology Unit the flood waters should reach Belize City by Thursday (today) and if its arrival coincides with a high tide residents can expect heavy flooding in the city. Residents in some low areas had to be evacuated. And whilst the situation in the Cayes, both Caye Caulker and San Pedro is far less worse, it has put a temporary halt to the activity of the island due to the deplorable state of the roads. With knee high water, it made it inaccessible to vehicles and golf carts, bicyclists and pedestrians. Areas most affected in San Pedro included Boca del Rio, San Pedrito, San Pablo, San Mateo and the DFC Subdivision. At Reef Radio’s Morning Show, Mayor of San Pedro was asked about the conditions of the roads and to answer when work would commence to patch the roads. Paz stated that the Council has gotten the ‘hard core’ material and have already started working on fixing the streets. Although it won’t be an easy task to cover all the areas that need attention, work may be prolonged to several weeks.
One of the most pressing concerns has been the health factor, particularly trying to mitigate the effects of contaminated water. A water purifying system was installed in Bullet Tree on Monday, October 20th and other significant efforts will have to be made to avoid infection. Losses of property and crops are estimated also in the tens of millions of dollars. The damage assessment is underway and the figures will be released at a later date. Residents in the Cayo District claim that they have not experienced massive flooding like this in over forty years, not since Hurricane Hattie which devastated the Nation in 1961.
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