Waters spilling into Lords Banks …

A News Five Team is just back from the Northern Highway and has an update on the situation in Lords Bank where the waters are creeping up. Jose Sanchez reports.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The met office had forecasted the flood waters would affect the Belize River Valley and surrounding villages. But the rising waters have already affected areas of Belize City and are now threatening to spill onto the Northern Highway. Hydrologist Rudolph Williams says that the water levels will continue to rise.

Rudolph Williams, Hydrologist, MET
“We are looking at the water levels and how they are impacting the Belize River Valley and the lower Belize River. We have noticed that from More Tomorrow down the water levels are falling but as we get to the belie River Valley proper, St. Paul’s Bank, Bermudian Landing and those areas, the water levels are becoming a little steady at this time. Around Maypen we see that there is an increase in water levels and decrease as we get to level one and a more rapid increase near Boom. However, this indicates to us that the peak of the flood wave is somewhere near Boom at this time and is moving down towards Belize City. So we are saying that probably in the next day or two we’ll be seeing the peak passing through Belize City and under the Haulover Bridge.”

At mile eight the waters have begun to extend beyond the banks of the river. The Ministry of Works has been mindful and has been inspecting culverts along the Northern highway.

David Novelo, Ministry of Works
“We are checking the culverts all along the Northern Highway because, as you may know, the water is rising and we need to ensure that all our culverts are working properly and any problems like these we need to address as quick as possible before the water continues to raise. We started from the Haulover Creek and we’re going up this side. Over that curve by seven and a half we’re going to do some work also.”

Jose Sanchez
“So what actually are you doing in this particular spot?”

David Novelo
“In this particular spot, we detected the culvert, as you notice, is a metal pipe and due to the time and the water it normally erodes and at that time it collapses. So we’re going to dump some material on top of it to deal with the problem no.”

Williams says that erosion might impact the highways.

Rudolph Williams
“What happens in these type of flood events, we have very high velocity water passing down the channel and as it moves along it scours the river banks and this is a natural process that occurs and however, when we have this type of event happens, we can get the shifting and the erosion of the banks and significant erosion can occur. Recently we have seen that it has already impacted the highway and so it is very possible that it can impact the highway again and make it vulnerable in some parts.”

Lords Bank residents have not been spared from the waters being funnelled from Cayo. Now residents have begun to go through water to get to their homes.

Carolee Swift Avilez, Resident, Lords Bank
“Well we have to use dories to come out because we don’t want children to walk in this water because the water is badly affected. We have cows from behind the river that is running all over the place right now so we gotta be careful right now. We use a dory to bring us from behind to here. See the guys there with the dory right now.”

Jose Sanchez
“How long has the water been rising? Is it slowing down?”

Carolee Swift Avilez
“No, it’s going like higher and higher; like one inch, two inches. Yesterday it wasn’t this bad, water wasn’t this far. So it’s going one inch, two inches, it’s going up.”

Jose Sanchez
“If the water continues to rise what are you going to do tomorrow?”

Carolee Swift Avilez
“Well, we have two more stairs to go. If the water continues to go we have to move from there. I don’t know where we’re going because we can’t go to the center. The center is almost low and water wah soon tek that side so I don’t know where we are going from there.”

Robert Hernandez, Resident, Lords Bank
“I live bout three streets from here.”

Jose Sanchez
“Water is not in your house yet?”

Robert Hernandez
“Not yet but very soon; very soon ih wah reach deh. About five houses more or less don got water. So I just di wait fi wah dory fi mek ih come pick me up fi mek I go check di out so right.”

Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.