NEMO Prepares for Flood Waters Reaching Belize District
News Five’s Duane Moody took a trip to the Belize River Valley area where the Belize River is already swelling and the banks being taken in by the rising water level. The entrance to Gracie Rock Village off the George Price Highway is under about a foot of water and continues to rise. This morning, the Belize District NEMO Committee met at its center in Ladyville to plan for the eventuality. Here’s a report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Flood water from the west has been making its way down to the Belize River Valley area. Several access roads in Gracie Rock Village are inundated and along the Belize River Valley area, the water level of the river is rising and fast. The full impact is expected tonight and into Thursday.
Lionel Smith
Lionel Smith, NEMO Coordinator, Belize Rural North
“The reports I have gotten since 7:30 a.m. this morning is that the river in Willow’s Bank Village, Double Head Cabbage, Burrell Boom, especially in Willow’s Bank Village, it has surpassed what they call their top gallon marks. So we have seen the river start spilling its banks and that is because we are still anticipating a larger body of water to come down this way. We are also monitoring Crooked Tree cause we know the lagoon normally the water level comes up and then the causeway gets inundated and then you have some folks who live in the low-lying areas adjacent the lagoon and so on. So we are keeping a close eye on Crooked Tree as well.”
So today, the NEMO Committee for Belize District met in Ladyville in preparation for this eventuality.
Lionel Smith
“We just held our EOC meeting, our Emergency Operations Committee meeting. We had the deputy chair of Belize Rural North for NEMO, Mister Marconi Leal chaired the meeting and we had different respective committee chairs present as well. Today our meeting was to touch base and cross our T’s and dot our I’s in regards to the impending flood waters that we are expecting to come from west of the country.”
NEMO Coordinator for Belize Rural North, Lionel Smith says that the plan will include collaboration among all relevant authorities as well as persons on the ground in an effort to prevent any loss of life and minimize damage to property.
Lionel Smith
“All the operations for Belize rural office will happen right from this building behind me. We do have our community volunteers in each village and these people are trained as well if we need to call upon them to represent at any given moment.”
Smith says residents must not panic at this time, but remain alert.
Lionel Smith
“There is no need for panic at this moment. Like I said, we are still anticipating the water body to come down our way. It might be quite a significant amount of water, but at this moment in time, there is no shelters activated in Belize rural. We do have people on standby if that need so arise.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
