The town of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye is often described in tourist brochures as a tropical paradise. That may be true, but as the bible reminds us, paradise is not without its problems. For San Pedro the problems of the last few years have been hurricanes and fires…and despite the approaching height of the […]
But in October of 2001, Angela Luk, the Wavedancer’s assistant cook at the time of the tragedy, told News 5 that the procedure was that the Belizean crew had to stay on board during Hurricane Iris or they would be fired. Tonight, we repeat her dramatic story. Angela Luk, Former Crewmember, Wavedancer “I don’t think […]
The last time News 5 reported from the village of Blue Creek was in 1994 when it hosted a worldwide educational programme called “The Jason Project”. Since those busy days, the picturesque community has had its share of ups and downs. Last weekend I got a chance to see for myself. Janelle Chanona, Reporting In […]
Traffic on the Southern Highway came to a standstill on Saturday morning when a delivery truck caught fire and blocked the road. According to driver Alfonso Witz of Southern Grocery Supply in Punta Gorda, around eleven a.m., he was just a few miles from the dump when flames licked up from the engine. Witz told […]
As predicted, rains continue to inundate much of the country today to cause floods, threaten property and hinder travel on major highways. According to the Ministry of Works, the following roads and bridges remain closed tonight. In the Toledo District, while the Southern Highway is open, the Jordan Bridge is still closed. Villagers of Pueblo […]
Much of the country is holding its collective breath as overcast skies and intermittent showers threaten to bring renewed flooding to parts of the Toledo, Stann Creek, Cayo and Belize Districts. While rain forecast for tonight should be nowhere near the quantity which fell last week, with the ground already saturated it will not take […]
After a waterlogged weekend, Belizeans all over the country are once again bracing themselves as more rains cause new flooding. The latest from the Ministry of Works and officials at the Meteorology Department is that the Guacamallo Bridge on the Macal River is under four feet of water; there is fifteen feet of water above […]
As residents try to protect life and property in the face of the floods, tonight there is one happy story to report. On Saturday evening, Oswald Young, who we had reported was missing after floodwaters took over his farm situated outside of St. Matthews Village, was found alive and well. On Friday morning a British […]
There was good news and bad news today from flooded areas in the west and south of the country. The good news is that in many areas the waters are receding; the bad is that what the sunshine has revealed is that a number of roads, bridges, and buildings took a serious beating. In the […]
For the hundreds of people lined up on the Western Highway, their biggest problem of the day was how to get from point A to point B with a broken bridge in between. But residents of villages in low lying areas along a dozen rivers in the southern half of the country had more serious […]
For many people uprooted from their homes by yesterday’s flash floods, today was the time to survey the damage. Jacqueline Woods joined residents of one hard hit village on the Western Highway. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Today as the water started to go down in St. Matthew’s Village, many residents who have been affected by the […]
While moving around the country to chronicle this week’s disaster, News 5 reporters heard dozens of opinions which sought to explain the severity of the flooding. Theories ranged all the way from the political–that is blaming the government–to the diabolical–which meant blaming the Chalillo dam, even though the project has yet to get underway. This […]
Ever since Hurricane Iris carved a path of destruction across southern Belize last October, Belize’s weather has been remarkably benign. The recent dry season proved mercifully short and the seasonal onset of rain fell gently and evenly… until now that is. Tropical waves moving across the country have dumped up to twenty-three inches in some […]
An Orange Walk woman is hospitalised tonight after being burned in an early morning fire. Twenty-year-old Aledes Ulloa, a Honduran national, says she was sleeping in one of the cabanas on the compound of the Rio Adventures Bar when she was awakened by intense heat and the strong smell of smoke. Ulloa told authorities she […]
A Belizean pilot is lucky to be alive tonight after he made an emergency landing in a banana field. Tom Murphy was flying a Weatherly 620B crop duster belonging to the Banana Growers Association this morning in the vicinity of Cowpen when around 6:40 smoke began to enter the plane’s cockpit. According to the B.G.A., […]
A fire in Hopkins on Thursday night has destroyed much of a local resort, costing a community group thousands. Around 11:30 p.m., a fire, believed to have started in the kitchen of the main building at the Sandy Beach Lodge, quickly overwhelmed the structure and spread to two nearby cabanas. Because the only fire service […]
A weekend blaze has left three Belize City families homeless and the Fire Department still searching for answers. Tonight, eight children and three mothers are staying with family and friends after their homes and personal belongings were destroyed. Jacqueline Woods reports on the tragedy. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Around midnight on Sunday, residents of Pelican Street […]
The National Fire Service has concluded its investigation into the problems the San Pedro Fire Department experienced when it responded to Saturday’s early morning fire on the island. Fire Chief Henry Baizar says all the equipment on the truck was working when the team arrived at the location, but that the troubles began after they […]
The town of San Pedro is no stranger to misfortune, but most of the community’s disasters are of the natural variety, namely hurricanes. But the storm which struck Ambergris Caye in the wee hours of Saturday morning was made of fire, and the evidence indicated that the conflagration may have been manmade. News 5’s Jacqueline […]
On Saturday night, things were heating up inside the Corozal Free Zone…but not in a good way. A fire that began in one of the zone’s stores quickly spread, and within minutes became a roaring blaze that threatened lives and property. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods and George Tillett are just back from Corozal with the […]
A fire in Belize City on Sunday has left two families without shelter. Today, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods looked for answers in the rubble. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Fire officials say they still cannot determine what started the blaze, but are waiting to interview some people who were on hand at the time of the incident. […]
A dramatic weekend fire in a highly congested area of Belize City has destroyed two houses and left sixteen people homeless. News 5’s Rick Romero rushed to the scene on Sunday to find fire-fighters fighting the flames from various angles in an effort to prevent it from spreading. Today, fire officials tell News 5’s Jacqueline […]
A butane-fuelled fire this morning in the Corozal District has destroyed a family’s home and two vehicles. According to Corozal fire station supervisor Wayne Armstrong, the call from San Joaquin Village came in around 7:50 a.m. and when fire-fighters responded a few minutes later, they found a small butane delivery truck, a Dodge van and […]
There’s never a good time for a fire, but the week before Christmas is about as bad as they come. The latest blaze began just as this newscast was getting underway Thursday night. Jacqueline Woods has the story. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting It did not take the National Fire Service long to bring the blaze under […]
Shortly before 3:00 this morning, fire broke out at number 676 Hibiscus Lane in Belize City. The wooden house and all its contents, valued at some seventy thousand dollars were destroyed. Fire officials suspect the blaze may have been started by an electrical fault. Fortunately, Nelson Hemsley, the owner of the house, was not home […]
