U.N.D.P. donates hurricane relief skiff to NEMO

Three weeks after Tropical Storm Arthur claimed five lives and caused more than fifty million dollars in damage, life in the Belize and Stann Creek districts is slowly returning to normal. The devastation has highlighted the extreme vulnerability of coastal communities like Gales Point and Mullins River, who are still cut off by road because of the destruction of the bridge. Access to those areas is limited to boats and with that in mind, this afternoon the United Nations Development Programme officially handed over a twenty-three foot shallow draft skiff to the National Emergency Management Organization. According to NEMO coordinator Colonel George Lovell, the donation will go into immediate use.

Colonel George Lovell, NEMO Coordinator
“This, more than likely, will enhance the capacity that the National Emergency Management Organization have as we go through what is predicted to be another busy hurricane season. We had the unfortunate experience from Tropical Storm Arthur and the flood events that that tropical storm brought and as a result, our people in the areas of Gales Point and Mullins River, as we speak, are still recovering from the effects of those floods. The vessel that you see here today will be used, not just for the Gales Point and the Mullins River communities, but for all those other communities that may in time of need have a requirement for a vessel to be deployed into their area.”

The National Coast Guard will be in charge of the skiff. In other news from the Coast Guard, a forty-one foot Columbian vessel with three two hundred horse power engines has been recovered from an area near Ambergris Caye. Investigators believe that the boat was used during a drug transaction in Mexico but it capsized and then drifted for as long as seven days until it came to a stop in Belizean waters. The boat has since been moved to the Anti-Drug Unit base in Ladyville.