Police and fire officials are still trying to find out what caused the Star Guest House in the area of “The Split” on Caye Caulker to burn down. According to the hotel’s owner, Ramon Reyes Jr., the two-storey wooden building, which was destroyed by fire shortly after midnight on Monday, was vacant, as it was […]
They say that bad things happen in threes…and sure enough, on Monday night in Cayo, Belize experienced its third serious gas tank explosion in a little over a month. The latest catastrophe occurred around seven at Palma’s Restaurant on Savannah Road in San Ignacio. After the explosion six people were transferred to KHMH where they […]
It seems that bad luck continues to plague the hurricane stricken citizens of San Pedro. Around eleven o’clock Tuesday morning fire fighters were once again called out to the scene of a blaze in the Boca Del Rio area. Upon arriving they saw the upstairs of a two storey wooden house engulfed in flames. The […]
As if San Pedranos did not have enough in the way of natural disasters to deal with, a fire in that hurricane-damaged town has left ten more people homeless. The blaze began just after five Thursday evening and firemen arrived on the scene at the north end of Barrier Reef Drive soon after. National Fire […]
An accident that occurred around midday on Tuesday in waters off the Esso compound has left one man clinging to life. A contractor was on his way to work on Esso’s submarine hoses when his boat was involved in a mishap. Rufino Lin, Country Coordinator, Esso “There was a crash between the vessel that our […]
The Youth Development Department has joined in the nationwide Hurricane Keith relief effort. On Monday October thirtieth, the department will launch its Keith relief Give A Dollar campaign. The project encourages everyone to give just one dollar in the hope that a lot of dollars will go along way. Icilda Humes, a youth development officer, […]
Meanwhile, police strongly suspect that a body found on October sixth near San Pedro, may be that of American Buddy Smith. Smith was one of five crew members who went missing at sea after the catamaran they were traveling in got caught in Hurricane Keith and overturned. Because of the advanced state of decomposition, however, […]
Caye Caulker is an island known for its self-reliance, and that quality has been severely tested in the aftermath of Hurricane Keith. But sometime even the strongest communities need a helping hand, and as Jose Sanchez discovered this morning, those hands–as well as the arms, legs and hearts–are working overtime. Jose Sanchez, Reporting The Belize […]
It’s the wealthiest urban area in the country, but Keith inflicted his greatest damage on San Pedro’s poor. Two and a half weeks after the wind and water wreaked havoc; San Pedro and the rest of Ambergris Caye are slowly cleaning up. This morning I returned to the island to see how things are going. […]
The sound reverberated like thunder through both sides of downtown Belize City Monday night and people rushed to the Swing Bridge like mosquitoes to a newly arrived tourist. It was around seven-fifteen and what normally would have been a picturesque fleet of fishing boats rocking calmly at anchor was instead the scene of a disaster. […]
Closer to home, residents who must commute between Belize City and points north are forgiven if they view news of hurricane relief with something less than enthusiasm. I’ve given up trying to make the trip in my own vehicle, but News Five’s Jose Sanchez today spoke to many people who are still trying. Jose Sanchez, […]
In news of hurricane relief a number of new donors have come forward to offer emergency aid in the wake of Hurricane Keith. On October tenth, Britain’s Department for International Development announced a donation of one hundred thousand pounds, which is just under three hundred thousand Belize Dollars. The money will be administered by the […]
Preliminary estimates of damage to the sugar industry have been revised upward. The Ministry of Agriculture, following surveys by the Sugar Board, reports that losses are in the vicinity of thirty-three million dollars. Fourteen thousand acres of cane are said to be flooded, ten thousand in Orange Walk and four thousand in the Corozal District. […]
It’s a part of Belize that seldom makes its way into the headlines, but the people who live along the New River and Rio Hondo in the Orange Walk District are the ones whose hard work is responsible for much of Belize’s growth and progress. Today Prime Minister Said Musa, accompanied by the district’s legislative […]
Prime Minister Said Musa took a firsthand look at the situation along the flooded Hondo and New Rivers this afternoon and what he saw wasn’t pretty. News Five’s Jose Sanchez is just back from the scene and his report will appear later in this newscast. But you don’t have to travel to Orange Walk to […]
Meanwhile reports continue to come in, primarily from north and central Belize, of continued hardship caused by flooding. In Orange Walk the southern approach to the Tower Hill Bridge is under at least 2 feet of water, while the eastern approach to the San Estevan Bridge is under 4 feet. The wide waters of the […]
In the wake of hurricane Keith, the Belize Red Cross Society is the leading NGO poised to assist people with rebuilding their lives. Vice-president Delsyia Goff says they have gotten tremendous assistance from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the American Red Cross. A number of local contributions have also […]
Not all of the hurricane assistance from abroad has come in the form of money, food and clothing. In a unique display of regional solidarity, 26 technicians from Trinidad and Tobago have arrived in the country to help restore BTL’s communication lines. The 24 installers, one supervisor and a manager, all from the Telecommunication Services […]
Students of Belizean geography are aware that as you go from Hondo to Sarstoon the behaviour of Belize’s many inland waterways changes. In the north, for example, the rivers tend to rise more slowly, but once they flood, tend to stay that way for a long time. As you go south, however, the rivers are […]
Rivers continue to rise in much of northern Belize and concern now focuses on both the human and economic suffering occasioned on the mainland in the aftermath of hurricane Keith. An extensive aerial survey by News Five this morning showed that a number of communities have been hard hit by floodwaters in the Belize, Orange […]
David Dyck, the community’s co-chairman, told News Five that Blue Creek’s losses will run to around 6 million dollars. David Dyck, Co-Chairman, Blue Creek “Well this is spoilt. If it stays underwater more than a week, it’s lost. If it goes down quick, then we can still harvest it, but not if it stays longer. […]
As bad as things are in Blue Creek, they are just a preview of what communities downstream will suffer as the determined waters of the Rio Hondo wind their way to the sea some 75 miles away. And not just Belize is affected. On your screen is the Mexican village of La Union, just a […]
As we reported earlier in the week, one of the most disappointing aspects of hurricane Keith’s aftermath was the filthy condition of the shelters after they were vacated. Today we spoke to Mayor David Fonseca who explained how the shelters were administered. Jose Sanchez “The schools that were used as shelters, the damage they received […]
The Belize Red Cross continues to serve as a focal point for hurricane relief, both as a recipient of funding and disperser of aid. In addition to major donations from the international and American Red Cross organisations, PACT and IDB, recent financial help has come from the Bank of Nova Scotia, Gentrac and Caterpillar. The […]
One more body has been found off San Pedro Ambergris Caye. At this time police say that due to the advanced state of decomposition they have been unable to identify it. According the police the corpse is that of a man and it was found floating in the waters off the caye. Authorities strongly suspect […]
