Halfmoon Caye’s Lighthouse falls after TS Matthew

While Tropical Depression Matthew brought with it little to no damages as it made landfall in Belize over the weekend, it did wreak havoc off the coast.  The Belize Audubon Society has confirmed that a lighthouse, one of the oldest in the country located on Halfmoon Caye near the Turneffe Atoll, was toppled by gale force winds associated with the weather system.  Although the site had been decommissioned a few years ago by the Belize Ports Authority it was still employed by the conservation group for various uses.  Today Dirk Francisco of the Audubon Society told News Five that employees stationed on Halfmoon Caye evacuated the island on Friday and upon their return to the site following the passage of Matthew discovered that the tower had fallen.  According to Francisco a team will be heading out to the site tomorrow to assess the damages.