Free Zone/Chetumal open for business

One week after Hurricane Dean slammed into Northern Belize and Southern Mexico, efforts to clean up, rebuild and reopen are well underway. Today I travelled to two popular sites in the affected areas for progress reports.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Inside the Corozal Free Zone this morning, it was business as usual.

Joel Cervantes, Director General, C.F.Z.
“I think we are about fully recovered, in the sense that we have removed all the debris, all canopies and signs that fell on the main road and everything, all that was done last week.”

Once the compound was cleared of the debris, C.F.Z. opened its gates to its’ Mexican clients.

Joel Cervantes
“There were about three to four businesses that got damaged. The insurance companies have already reviewed that. What they are doing, is they have already gotten the contractors to work on those.”

Although we did not see many shoppers inside the C.F.Z., the Director General Joel Cervantes says they have been somewhat busy and he expects the traffic to increase by the weekend.

Joel Cervantes
“Because we are back to school in Mexico, Chetumal and all over, so it is usually slow and then on weekends it picks up. But I believe, actually today we’ve had quite an influx of Mexicans and tourists coming in, and people purchasing. I think it should pick up. September is the slowest month, and I believe it will be pretty good due to people coming from Campeche and who are going to purchase their personal clothing, footwear and things like that.”

Traffic was equally slow at the Belize/Mexico border station which closed on Monday, August twentieth, from nine p.m. to twelve-thirty on Tuesday afternoon. The only people allowed to cross into Mexico, were foreigners returning home.

Cesar Pulido, Immigration officer, Northern Border
“Belizeans were not allowed to go to Chetumal, the Mexican border was closed and they did not allow anyone to go.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“And since it reopened, what has traffic been like?”

Cesar Pulido
“Very slow, considering the vast exodus of people that we have had before the storm. The people that are exiting are mostly doing business, clearing stuff at customs that had sat at the Mexican border. But it’s been slow, when it comes to excursions and the locals, it’s very slow.”

Today as we travelled across the Mexican border and into neighbouring Chetumal, the effects of the storm took the form of knocked down trees, destroyed billboard signs and building damage. As in Belize, Mexican officials have been working hard to clean the mess and most businesses have reopened.

Cesar Pulido
“Some areas are still experiencing power failure, off and ons, shortage of water in some area. Other than that, everything is normal.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“So Belizeans who want to continue doing shopping, there should be no problem?”

Cesar Pulido
“Of course, there is no problem. We are advising the public to come and if there is any delay it is because of, you know, sometimes the systems are down. But everything is normal. We are asking people to come, Chetumal is open and we see no problems so far.”

Tonight officials from the National Emergency Management Organization are reporting that only ninety-five people are still using the various community centres in Corozal as shelters. According to NEMO, efforts by Belize Water Services, Belize Telemedia and Belize Electricity Limited to restore water, power and telephone service in the affected areas are continuing at a steady pace. Today NEMO also announced that it distributed food packages to ten thousand residents in thirty villages that should last fourteen days.