Floods recede in Cayo, Toledo still wet

The residents of San Ignacio, Santa Elena and other communities along the Macal River are breathing easier this evening, as it appears that floodwaters, which threatened to cause extensive damage, are receding. These pictures taken by the Government Press Office late Tuesday afternoon show the river after it had already crested and was beginning to retreat towards its traditional banks. Today residents continued to clean up the mud and debris left in the flood’s wake, slowly reclaiming low-lying areas of the twin towns. But while San Ignacio and Santa Elena recover, people living downstream on the Belize River are still nervously watching the fast moving waters. At 3:30 this afternoon the police officer at Roaring Creek Village reported that the Roaring Creek was only eight feet from the bottom of the bridge over the Western Highway and still rising. At 8:00 this morning it had been fifteen feet below the bridge. Meanwhile motorists traveling to and from the Toledo District are having their share of problems. The Southern Highway at Golden Stream is now passable although late this afternoon, it was still covered by a foot of water. The major problem stopping traffic remains the bridge at Deep River, which is still under four feet of water and is not expected to be passable until late Thursday morning. The Toledo office of the Ministry of Works reports that material is on hand at both sites to make any necessary repairs once the waters recede.