Why some rivers flood, others don’t
The more we in Belize are forced to learn about tropical weather, the more we realise what an inexact science the practice of meteorology is. With the widespread flooding following Keith and now Chantal we are gaining a greater appreciation for the nature of the nation’s many watersheds…and why a shift of only a few miles in a major downpour can mean the difference between comfort and disaster. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods visited the Met Office in Ladyville where the professionals there explained why some rivers are running wild, while others appear normal.
Jacquline Woods, Reporting
Chantal may be nothing more than a lowly tropical depression, but what she lacked in wind, is being made up for with water.
Carlos Fuller, Chief Meteorologist
“If Chantal had actually entered the Gulf of Mexico then it would have intensified…it would have pulled that moisture into it and we would have seen a rapid improvement in the weather. But the worse has happened to us. It stalled, it is a depression and so it is a very weak disorganised system producing rain over a very large area. If it continues at this rate for the next three days then we will be seeing the same sort of numbers we saw in Keith. So really we are keeping our fingers crossed right now and either hoping that this dissipates totally or if does reform, it reforms in the pacific and moves away from us.”
Since Tuesday night, different areas of the country have received heavy rainfall, which has caused extensive localised flooding. In Belize City, low-lying areas have accumulated a lot of water causing some streets to flood mostly on the city’s northside. Freetown Road once again lived up to its reputation as did Cleghorn Street as well as the Belama area, although none of their neighbourhoods fared as badly as during Keith.
Carlos Fuller
“It’s because of the topography of the area. Some areas are lower than others, so the water naturally runs towards those areas and secondly poor drainage. If you don’t have anywhere for the water to go it just continues to rise up until it can find an outlet.”
In the districts, the situation is far more acute. Claudio Leal, a hydrological technician has monitoring Belize’s rivers for years. He says it’s important to understand that rivers flood from water falling well upstream in their particular watershed.
Claudio Leal, Hydrological Technician
“The water that is coming down from this system is providing…The catchment from the Rio Hondo is all the way in Mexico, the majority, so the water will come down and eventually flood the Rio Hondo, which already from the reports, La Union which is our Blue Creek station is rising. We have Douglas village reports coming in is rising as well as San Roman, San Antonio and the other villages have reported to us that they are rising and already evacuating people.
The Villages within Orange Walk Town have experienced some flooding, which we considered are to be more localised than that of the New River itself. So it’s because of the high rains that we had overnight is causing the flooding, but the New River we are expecting to see a rise in it also.
We have in the Stann Creek District, Melinda Forest Station reported an eighteen feet rise in the river level which is like I say is extensive. We have had reports of different areas, seven inches right here in Belize, right here at the International Airport. Different areas of the country have reported extra ordinary rainfall which is not only isolated in the northern districts, but on the whole country.”
Chief Meteorologist, Carlos Fuller says more showers are predicted and some parts of the country should expect to receive as much as five to ten inches of rainfall. So far, the deluge is nothing like what occurred during Hurricane Keith, when north of the country received some thirty-five inches of rainfall. However if the rains continue at this rate for the next three days Fuller says we will be seeing some familiar scenes.
Carlos Fuller
“NEMO is monitoring the situation closely and reports are coming in from the B.D.F., they are monitoring it, giving us on the scene reports about what is occurring there, which we then feed in. And really there is not much you can do right now except maybe move out people and then afterwards assess what damage has occurred and house these people feed them until they can return to their homes and provide some sort of disaster relief.”
Preliminary forecast is for a gradual improvement in the weather over the weekend. In the meantime, people who live along riverbanks are being advised to monitor the situation and be ready to move to higher ground. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
In what may come as a surprise to many viewers, the headquarters of the National Meteorological Service near the airport is built to barely survive a rain shower, let alone a hurricane. The roof continues to leak…and for some reason known only to the architect, the building has no interior staircase. That’s right: the only way to get from the first floor to the second is to walk outside and climb the stairs–even in a category five hurricane.
