Corozalenos prepare to bear brunt of Dean

While the Prime Minister addressed the nation from Belmopan, residents of northern Belize were waking up to the fact that Dean did not take the hoped-for-turn north toward Cancun. News Five’s Kendra Griffith travelled to Corozal this morning to see how preparations were going.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
“Drills, saws, hammers, and cash registers were hard at work in Corozal Town this morning as residents braced themselves for Hurricane Dean.”

Cordelia Alcala, Owner, Corozal Farmer’s Supply
“We’re selling nails, plywood, Celotex, everything for construction, but mostly it’s nails at the moment.”

Kendra Griffith
“Your plywood supply is still going strong or it sold out?”

Cordelia Alcala
“It sold out, sold out early this morning, from about ten o’clock it was sold out.”

Corozal Resident
“I woke up early morning and I went to the shop so I could buy my things. Right now, you can’t get nothing right now.”

Kendra Griffith
“What did you stock up on?”

Corozal Resident
“Well um, canned food, flour, water, everything. Everything I need.”

Kendra Griffith
“Your house is already boarded up and everything?”

Corozal Resident
“No, right now I wah do it. I done buy the plywood and everything.”

Armando Medina, Corozal Resident
“I already secured my house, my family too and everything.”

Kendra Griffith
“So you’re planning to stay right here in Corozal?”

Armando Medina
“Of yes, yea well, I got a strong house. Who doesn’t happen to have a strong house, well It will be problem for them.”

We are not sure if some Belizeans are following the adage of “any port in a storm,” but we found a number of residents from the cayes who’ve sought refuge in the northern town. Jose Jimenez came from San Pedro.

Jose Jimenez, San Pedro Resident
“We come out from Saturday. Out deh calm right now, but after a calm dah wah storm.”

Kendra Griffith
“You think you will be safe up here though?”

Jose Jimenez
“Well, wi deh pan mainland, I think we supposed to safer yah. From deh we can’t run. I done pass Hurricane Keith out there and I noh want try pass wah next one.”

As part of their preparations, this morning the Corozal District Emergency Management Organisation held a meeting to brief shelter managers and wardens.

Joseito Lopez, Coordinator, Corozal DEMO
“We are briefing them on the positions that they will be having at the shelters, but we will put the police and B.D.F. immediately after midday to man the shelters until the staff come in at six o’clock.”

Kendra Griffith
“How many shelters you all have here?”

Joseito Lopez
“In Corozal we have ITVET, S.J.C., we have C.C.C., and Maryhill. That is a total of about twenty.”

According to Chairman Joseito Lopez, a priority for DEMO is the evacuation of the low lying and flood prone villages of Sarteneja, Chunux, Copper Bank, and Consejo.

Joseito Lopez
“These are the four areas of concern and they are taking care of things. At midday or about two o’clock, we start to get busses to bring the people from Sarteneja to St. Viator between Chunux and Sarteneja. There are two colleges that is open there.”

Kendra Griffith
“How many people are you all estimating you have to move from those villages?”

Joseito Lopez
“From those villages we’re talking about maybe two thousand people.”

Kendra Griffith
“And the people, they seem willing to come?”

Joseito Lopez
“No they are not willing, so we might not even get the two thousand. But we will have all the busses provided to them that if they don’t move, they can’t complain that government or NEMO. The buses will be there, we have a cut off time when the busses will stop run.”

Kendra Griffith
“What is the cut off time?”

Joseito Lopez
“That will be about ten o’clock tonight.”

And it’s not only residents in those villages that aren’t taking the threat of Dean seriously.

Nigelita Vasquez, Corozal Resident
“Years ago Belize has been threatened but nothing happen, so I don’t believe.”

Kendra Griffith
“You’re going to stay in Corozal?”

Nigelita Vasquez
“Yes, in my home, yea.”

Kendra Griffith
“You wah board up and so?”

Nigelita Vasquez
“No, stay home.”

Kendra Griffith
“You’re not considering it a real threat?”

Nigelita Vasquez
“Noh. Like usually it will just goh and just pass on.”

By mid-morning the skies over Corozal had started to darken and by one p.m. that the rain had started to fall … the first of much more to come. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.