Disaster in the form of a fire struck early this morning for a family of four. When Donna and Terrence Pott and their three children left their Giles Street home and headed to school and work, they had no idea that within an hour they would have lost most of their material possessions. Kendra Griffith […]
The Stars Restaurant and Bar in Roaring Creek Village went up in flames Sunday night. When fire officials arrived at the scene around ten-forty-five, they found the entire upper floor of the two storey wooden structure ablaze. The lower flat of the building was a popular bar and restaurant frequented by travelers on the Western […]
Since its establishment, the Belize Red Cross has been constant in assisting thousands of residents during times of disasters. But today the organisation launched an initiative in which they are seeking to increase the ability of three northern villages to respond to natural disasters and mitigate the threats. The Community Risk Reduction project is a […]
We are smack in the middle of the Atlantic Hurricane Season and so it’s no surprise that tonight the Met Office is telling Belizeans to keep an eye out for Gustav, a storm churning its way in the Caribbean Sea. The category one hurricane made landfall on the southwest peninsula of Haiti this afternoon and […]
And from politics in the capital city we go south to Punta Gorda where police and the Fire Department are investigating a series of fires that completely gutted four houses in the southern village of Crique Sarco, Toledo. The fires have attracted the attention of police because the dwellings belong to three members of one […]
A two storey structure on Victor Street in Benque went up in flames around six-eighteen Thursday night. The wooden upper portion of the structure was completely destroyed while the lower flat only received water and smoke damages. Fortunately the occupants, who were in the building when the fire started, managed to escape unharmed. The house […]
In June, rains from Tropical Storm Arthur had residents in northern and southern Belize fleeing for their lives as rivers overflowed their banks and floods raced through low-lying communities. But tonight there is good news for displaced families from the Melinda Forest Station compound in Hope Creek in the Stann Creek District. On Monday, groundbreaking […]
Weather experts have predicted an active and busy hurricane season and true to their word, on the day the season opened southern Belize was devastated by Tropical Storm Arthur. Residents of these communities are still on the road to recovery and now the news is not good. Weather experts are now giving a new and […]
A house in Steadfast Village in the Stann Creek District has been destroyed by fire. According to sixteen year old Leslie Leon, while he was cooking, a butane tank fell to the ground, the hose dislodged, and a fire broke out, gutting the building and all its contents. A car parked just outside was also […]
On Tuesday night residents in southern Belize prepared for a tropical wave which was expected to cause a rise in the already flooded rivers in the south. But tonight word from the Met Office is that the wave was not as bad as anticipated. Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Meteorologist “The rainfall has been decreasing during […]
The floods of Tropical Storm Arthur caught residents of southern Belize unprepared. Residents say they have never seen the waters rise so high and today News Five’s Ann-Marie Williams and cameraman Rick Romero retraced steps they made a month ago for an update on how the victims are rebuilding. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting It’s exactly one […]
Heavy rainfall in Southern Belize has caused rising waters and conditions are expected to worsen with an approaching tropical wave. Today News Five’s Marion Ali sat with Chief Met Officer Ramon Frutos to find out what to expect. Marion Ali, Reporting The experiences of Tropical Storm Arthur have left most Belizeans wary of present weather […]
The father of three children who died in last week’s fire in Belmopan has been charged. This morning thirty-six year old Francisco de Jesus Ruedas was arraigned on three counts of Manslaughter by Negligence in Belmopan Magistrates’ Court and was remanded to prison until August fourth. Around ten-fifteen Thursday night a fire broke out at […]
Belmopan police have detained a man following a fire that claimed the lives of his three children. The blaze occurred around ten-fifteen last night on Diana Street in the San Martin area of Belmopan. The Hernandez family had just returned from church, but before the father left for a friend’s house to make tamales for […]
Tonight the temporary causeway constructed by the Ministry of Works three weeks ago to replace the Kendall Bridge is totally inundated, making crossing by vehicle impossible. This was the mode of crossing the Sittee River today after torrential rains caused the river to swell for the second time in one month. Canoes and a ferry […]
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 […]
This afternoon government officially released the preliminary figures of the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis which was being conducted in the wake of Tropical Storm Arthur. Forty communities were impacted in the northern, southern and central areas of the country and the price tag for damages has come up to a whopping fifty-two million Belize […]
Since Monday, News Five reporters Janelle Chanona, Ann-Marie Williams and Kendra Griffith have been travelling by truck, tractor, speedboat and dorey to bring you the dramatic stories of Tropical Storm Arthur. Today it was Marion Ali’s turn to make the trip south. What makes her reporting particularly meaningful is that her family lives in one […]
On last night’s newscast we took a look at the aftermath of massive flooding at Gales Point and Mullins River Villages. Our team had literally just stepped off the boat and we immediately brought you George Tillett’s video footage along with Kendra Griffith’s commentary. Tonight we return to Gales Point, but this time with some […]
Relief operations continue in flood affected areas with life rapidly returning to normal—or at least as normal as life can be without household goods—and in some cases any house at all. The best news received today is that, after a visit by engineers from the U.S. Southern Command, the United States government has agreed to […]
Relief efforts gained momentum today in areas affected by Tropical Storm Arthur. Having traveled south yesterday, today News Five’s Ann-Marie Williams, accompanied by cameraman Chris Mangar, journeyed north. While the waters of the swollen Rio Hondo and its tributaries did not create any flash flooding, villagers are growing concerned as the rivers continue to rise. […]
Marleni Cuellar Here in studios, we have Kendra Griffith who is just off the boat from her trip down south to Gales Point and Mullins River who is going to show you our raw footage of what she encountered down south. Welcome Kendra. I know you made it just in time. Kendra Griffith Yes, literally, […]
While government and private relief agencies work to repair damaged lives and infrastructure, the money to make that rebuilding possible has to come from somewhere. On Tuesday Scotiabank announced a contribution of twenty-five thousand dollars toward the relief effort in the south. According to a release from the bank, the funds are earmarked for the […]
There will naturally be plenty of second guessing regarding what the Meteorological Service could or couldn’t have done to better prepare people for the floodwaters spawned by Tropical Storm Arthur. One tool that our weather experts did not have is advanced radar. In January we covered the groundbreaking ceremony for the much anticipated installation of […]
A day and a half after devastating floods tore a swath of destruction across a wide area of Belize, organised relief efforts are being mobilized and residents have commenced the muddy task of cleaning up. At the same time, government is taking stock of the considerable infrastructural damage and seeking both short and long term […]
