Flooding is Expected to Reach Belize City in a Few Days
Tennille Williams-Hendy
As we head into the weekend we will tell about what to expect in weather conditions. The National Hydrological Service has been monitoring the rise in water levels in the Macal and Mopan rivers, as well as the Belize River and other tributaries. Those waterways are becoming swollen and flooding is expected within the next three to four days. The Principal Hydrologist told News Five this evening that we will experience above-normal flood levels.
Tennille Williams-Hendy, Principal Hydrologist, National Hydrological Service
“We dissect the country into four regions and so I’ll start at the top. Region seven being in the north which is basically the Orange Walk and Corozal districts, the Rio Hondo and the New River. These areas are seeing rising water levels and as such flooding will become more apparent in their vicinity. So we’re asking that they remain vigilant. We move to central Belize which is Cayo and Belize districts, we’re looking at the Mopan, the Macal and the Belize River. In these areas, flooding is very visible. We have seen that most of the communities along the rivers are now inundated with water and so we expect that these systems will continue to rise, especially with the dams flooding. And so, with those being approximately three to four meters above their spillway, we’re looking at a significant amount of water, as well as these systems are also trans-boundary which means that we have influx of water from Guatemala that is being affected by the same system that is now sort of easing up on us now. So we do expect to see further flood conditions persist in the central region. The Belize River Valley area, coming closer to Belize City, we are seeing that the river is reaching flood stag. So we’re expecting over the next three to five days that they would start to see some type of significant increase in flood waters. It could happen before because Mother Nature, nobody tells her what to do. In terms of the Sibun River which traverses from the west of the country, it comes through central and it empties out just south of the deep water port in Belize City, that also has an influence on flooding in Belize City and the greater Belize City area. And when we say greater Belize City area, we’re talking about Hattieville, Ladyville, the Eight Mile Community, the Freetown Sibun Community in Hattieville, coming right into Belize City itself. So we’re not seeing any sort of high flood levels at this point, but we do expect that in the coming days that we will see above normal flood levels.”
