Restoring Belize after the Hurricane
Hurricane Richard turned out to be fatal. There’s loss of life and extensive destruction in areas that felt the full wrath of the Category One Hurricane on Sunday. The swaths of winds caused houses and trees to collapse and debris is cluttering streets and roads. In the City residents are attempting to restore some normalcy but the damage is extensive and it will take time to rebuild. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports from the streets of the old capital.
Delahnie Bain, Reporting
One of the neighborhoods in Belize City hardest hit by Hurricane Richard on Sunday is the Yarborough area. This morning Cesar Ridge Road was closed to traffic because an excavator and dump truck had to be brought in to clear the loads of debris that washed up onto the streets and inside yards. Ali Thurton was one of the many residents shoveling trash out of his yard, but he says the damage to his home is a bigger concern.
ali thurton
Ali Thurton, House Damaged in Hurricane Richard
“The entire inside of my house is totally wrecked; TV, Washing machine right there, a sofa, my refridge, TV everything. The water was like five feet high in my house. I noh got nothing. Last night I had to sleep pan hard board. My pickney dehn sleep pan wet up mattress weh I spread some plastic fi just comfort dehn because I noh worry bout me I could tek di lick.”
Meanwhile, Allen Valencio and his family of ten were left homeless. They lost track of the hurricane when electricity lines went down and made a last minute decision to evacuate when things got rough.
Allen Valencio, House Destroyed in Hurricane Richard
allen valencio
“During the storm we mi stay home; dah just afta we lef; couple seconds afta when we check fi we house gone; di follow we. While we di lef fi we house di follow we so we just had to roll out and save lives. We couldn’t save no material things. Right now I noh got nowhere fi go. I would ah really want di government si or somebody inna high authority si how dehn could assist me inna any form cause right nothing noh di go on. Noh even work I can’t go cause I noh have no clothes.”
While Valencia’s family made it out while their house was still standing, Marsella Velasquez was inside her home when it came crumbling down.
marsella velasquez
Marsella Velasquez, House Destroyed in Hurricane Richard
“Three females were in the house; my daughter and Sharnel and I. bout six-thirty so di house went down with us.”
Delahnie Bain
“Did anybody get hurt?”
Marsella Velasquez
“Luckily, by the grace of God, thank God we come out without injury or nothing. Everything completely gone, everything. All the contents of the house, clothes everything.”
Delahnie Bain
“So what are you going to do now?”
Marsella Velasquez
“Well, the minister said he will give me some assistance and so.”
Delahnie Bain
“So where is your family staying in the meantime?”
Marsella Velasquez
“Presently, we are all about.”
The affected families are trying to salvage whatever they can, but they feel that help is taking too long to come their way.
Ali Thurton
“The only help we get round yah dah outside weh yoh si these people di clean up pan di street weh we di dash di dirt; dat dah di only help weh we get round yah from yesterday. When yoh di talk food wise, nothing else dehn di bring. All weh dehn bring fi we dah two gallon ah wata.”
Allen Valencio
“We just deh pan fi we land right yah di try si weh we could try scrape up and try put together, pick up pieces ah board from di street side and bring dehn together fi get back together. I got kids, I got young pickney as young as two and change and I wouldn’t want dehn expose to no kinda disease or no kinda sickness check. So I would ah like fi di system just assist me anyway how dehn could. I need wah lee house; dat dah di basic thing weh I di look fah, one shelter.”
But it wasn’t only homes that were damaged. Today we also found the teachers and principal of Queen Street Baptist cleaning up after Richard.
herman lambey
Herman Lambey, Principal, Queen Street Baptist School
“We sustained water damage to many books in the lower flat of the school building and in the kitchen we sustained damage to our food stuff. If you go upstairs in the computer room, water came in through the windows and about six of the computers are damaged. From yesterday we started to clean up. Today we’re just doing the finishing touches, getting the mud out of the classroom and out of the school yard.”
Delahnie Bain for News Five.
I think that Belize have very much to be thankful for today after being hit by a Category 1 hurricane. It is not much of a disaster in my opinion, because the loss of homes, water damage, and other material things displace, sacrifice, or consumed in the path of Richard is nothing compare to body counts.
Many Belizeans houses are or were those of wooden and tin-roof homes that are or were very vulnerable to winds, much less a hurricane. This disaster could mean some good changes for those poor neighborhoods with dilapidated houses. From out of this disaster functional homes and streets should be constructed for families to start over.
Tents should be set-up as a temporary refuge for those in need of a place to stay, in the meantime residence should come together to help clean up their own neighborhoods for fast re-construction aided by the GOB.
Help from your GOB will not come quick; rebuilding homes or clean-up after a hurricane is not an overnight project, and people need to be patient.
It was so much gratifying seeing the news on Monday where people were picking up and starting to clean up and helping themselves…….but, the truth is that these were RURAL people……now Tuesday news show people in the damaged areas of the City and ALL them sitting down and waiting for Government to cum help them…..MAN, U big and strong….get U backside up and help Uself, and then others will help U…..just shows where GOB’s mentality of handouts has got the people spoilt. GOB/NEMO must realize that BELIZE is from the Hondo to Sarstoon……..NOT from Halover to Burton canal
Wel i wouldn’t wish for any hurricanes upon Belize any at all, but i have to say,……Belize City had it coming for a long long time…..its past due…..its just an outright evil place with alot of evil people living there…the good will always suffer for the bad in the end….but i think they needed it just to jilt them out of that violent stupor they have found themselves in….. Should have been a category 3 or 4 just so all those wicked and evil people in the city could wake up and see God’s might…..he is punishing them for all their wrong doings…they should be thankful that God showed them some mercy this time……next time i don’t think he will if things continue the ways its going….
I agree with you SUGAR Belizean people need to start do things for themselves, an stop di wait fi mek the government come to their aid. The saying goes like this…God help those who help themselves. Belizean people like everything come to them mouth, to achieve good things in life, you have to sacrifice yourself and work hard to be successful.
Sugar and Lovely, I totally agree with you that you have to pick up the pieces and move on, but both of you have no idea the emotional scar these people are going through to loose everything that you have worked so hard to accomplished. Where do you get the strength to move on, especially for those people that have all those kids. I feel for these people and their kids, they have witness something awful and I hope and pray that the government can help them get their lives back together. Moreover if they have no money then where do they start. Manny of these people are very poor in Belize. I hope the kids will recover from the emotional trama from this hurricane. God bless everyone affected by this hurricane and make he give everyone the strength to move on with their lives.
i agree with you sugar the mentality of belizeans are quite upsetting and some on the news show that they themselves want the people that are helping to leave other people to go to them everyone will get help!! and belize is poor because we have toooo many lazy pipl!!!!
Darlene………. I agree with your point of view.
DaSin………… It’s A SIN THAT YOU JUDGE OTHERS when you have not walked in their shoes.
BELIZE IS POOR because the POLITICIANS STEAL from her left and right, HINDERING HER GROWTH.
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BELIZE PEOPLE ARE NOT LAZY………………..learn your history.
I just pray that GOB do not just hand out plywood and tin roofs to patch up or rebuild similar homes. This could possibly be an opportunity to really provide a helping hand and improve the lives of the poor……a small four wall cement block home with possible flat cement roof might be a little more expensive (community helpers providing labour).
Improve their life immeasurably.
Just dishing out plywood and tin might be a temporary help, but then it will become like a “lesson unlearned”.