The Post Flooding Situation in Belize River Valley
It’s been over a week since we’ve been reporting on severe flooding in central Belize and that’s because with the change in weather, water levels have been receding in all areas, including the Belize River Valley where flood waters rose high into people’s homes. So today, we headed back to the Belize District to get an update on what has been happened. Here’s what we found:
Duane Moody, Reporting
We headed back to the Belize River Valley where we found the Boom/Hattieville Circuit water-free and so was the access road to the villages along the Belize River Valley Road. The river is still filled to capacity with flood waters and a number of yards in proximity to the waterway remain inundated.
A couple weeks ago, access to the village of Lemonal was cut off and supplying pantry to those who were stuck in shelters or their homes was only made possible through support from the Belize Coast Guard who would ferry NEMO personnel and residents via boat. Today, access to some houses off the main road could only be done via canoes, but for the most part, the water had receded and residents have been making their way back to their homes.
Yasmin Anthony
Yasmin Anthony, Secretary, Lemonal Village Council
“First the water came up and that was really high and it went down like three days after the raise. Then a week later, we had another raise and the water was up for more than weeks. Right now it is still up. We have like twenty-seven families that really got affected by the flood. While most of us were affected too because a part of the road was covered with water. We have couple houses that are under water and some people that came for shelter went back home now that the water is going down. But you still have few homes that are under water whereby people have to use canoes to reach to their house.”
In Burrell Boom, we found seven families or twenty-four persons, including children, still in shelter. Many of them have been living there for about three to four weeks after water levels rose inside their houses. Kimberly Segura is the president of the Community Disaster Response Team in the village. She and her family were displaced and she says that there are still a few houses that are still under water.
Kimberly Seguro
Kimberly Seguro, President, Community Disaster Response Team, Burrell Boom
“The water is low, but we still have a couple houses that are still under water; the water is not completely gone from inside their homes and because of that we are still in the shelter.”
Duane Moody
“I understand that some streets still have water on it.”
Kimberly Seguro
“Yes the roads, they still have water, but then it is low now that vehicles cane pass, especially the one that is very close to me – vehicles couldn’t pass through there for two weeks. We had to use canoes and boats to get across if you want to go that side. People use to still use the road with canoes and boats because they had to get to and from work every day. The river is still very much high, but there are possibilities that after this it will go down like I said before with the weather climate. Whenever the weather gets like this, the river drops fast so we are looking forward that probably in the next week or so we can actually see the bank side.”
It is expected that by the end of the week, all persons in the shelter would have returned to their houses after which an assessment of the damages will be done.
Duane Moody
“Have you guys been able to assess the damages to your homes?”
Kimberly Seguro
“No sir. We are hoping to get some assistance from NEMO, but we still haven’t gotten a for sure answer from them so we are just like on standby.”
Duane Moody
“You already gone home and check see if there was any damage inside your home, inside your relatives’ home because I know there is where is still affected?”
Kimberly Seguro
“Yes sir. As a matter of fact, yesterday I went home to check on my house and I can clearly say that my home is not safe for me; my floor is damaged. I have another neighbour that lives right beside me, her flooring is also damaged. The young man that lives behind me, his entire home was under water – it was only the roof that was out of water – so he needs, I believe, a complete house.”
Yasmin Anthony
“Most of them were affected and I believe that some stuff has been destroyed, but you have this house that just the top you could have seen and I know a lot of stuff was destroyed in that house.”
Duane Moody
“NEMO is going to come through to assist?”
Yasmin Anthony
“Yes, I believe they will come by because they came already. You have like four organizations that came by to assist people that were affected and needed help in the village. And so we are looking forward that they may come by to check up again and see where else they can help.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
