In the aftermath of Hurricanes Georges which affected several Caribbean countries and Mitch which touched down closer to home, the Belize Red Cross and U.N.D.P. have organized a series of Community Disaster Preparedness workshops. In May and June, twenty-seven villages were targeted in the Corozal District. Today, Crooked Tree Village was the first of twenty-four […]
There was a lot of finger pointing on Friday night as firefighters and volunteers spent two hours getting the Victoria Street fire under control. Those on the street blamed the fire service for being unable to get the fire under control, the National Fire Service says they had to wait for B.E.L. to take the […]
Three days after a fire demolished six houses, damaged two others and left over fifty people without a place to live, the cause of the Victoria Street fire is still not known. Fire officials are still examining the possibilities, one of which was a faulty appliance in one of the apartments at number 68. But […]
A Punta Gorda fisherman died as a result of a boating accident on Saturday. That afternoon, Independence Police received information that someone had been swimming near Waterside Dock and had not resurfaced. However, upon reaching the scene, they discovered the incident actually took place about a quarter mile offshore. Eliodoro Lara reported that he and […]
A teenager lost his life this weekend during a Sunday outing to Davis Bank in the Belize District. Jane Thomas, a resident of Grace Bank Village, told police she took 8 adults and 16 young people on a picnic but when she called roll at 2:15, she discovered one boy, 15 year old Leon Bennett […]
Every once in a while a wooden house drops in Belize City. And it happened again today. Although officials are still investigating why a home on Pickstock Street collapsed on one side, everyone is relieved that the family inside at the time was not hurt. Janelle Chanona was at the scene. Like families all over […]
Word spread quickly this afternoon that a man had been electrocuted at a construction site. A crowd gathered at the scene on Central American Boulevard where thirty-seven year old construction worker Luis Meggs had been hoisting lumber from the ground floor of the building to the roof when the accident occurred. Eyewitness Greg Moguel said […]
Three families in San Miguel, Punta Gorda are without homes tonight after a fire broke out shortly around eleven Tuesday night. According to reports the flames totally engulfed buildings belonging to Sebastian Coh, John Coh and Ricardo Cuz. At this time it is not known how the fire ignited but P.G police say the blaze […]
By now all of us know that this week marks the beginning of the hurricane season. And while most of us at least gave some thought to making preparations, no one could blame one family in the village of Biscayne for being caught off guard yesterday in the face of a freak of meteorology. Selfred […]
With the start of the hurricane season, it’s time to take stock of your situation and make plans in case Belize is confronted by a storm this year. The National Emergency Management Organization says they have also been doing this and “fine-tuning” the Revised National Hurricane Plan. But while the government, police and B.D.F. have […]
With the start of the hurricane season today, many of us are reliving the anxious days last October when Mitch had us fearing the worst and praying for the best. While we followed the weather reports tracking this fickle storm, trying to decide which way to run, we didn’t know there was a cruise ship […]
If things had gone differently, right now we would still be rebuilding Belize instead of making preparations for the next round of storms to blow through. The 1999 Hurricane Season begins tomorrow and luckily for us, we not only have our homes this year, but some valuable insight into what we would do differently to […]
With the near miss by Hurricane Mitch and plans for satellite towns in the works, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Housing feel the establishment of comprehensive building codes is long overdue. Today the Chamber and the Organization of American States sponsored a workshop on modernizing and enforcing these codes. OAS consultant […]
The hurricane season officially starts on June first, however, the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO has been preparing itself in case the country is threatened by another storm this year. Last week, NEMO began a hurricane simulation exercise revolving around the fictitious storm Sylvia. Today the pretend storm was “located” two hundred and fifty-five miles […]
A man drowned fourteen miles north of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye on Saturday morning. According to reports reaching News Five, Luis Javier Campos, who works nine miles outside of San Pedro, went on a fishing trip with his boss Lee Karlston and another male companion. When they reached the Basil Jones area a large wave […]
In April three children burned to death after being left home alone at their Belize City home. This morning two Dangriga children almost suffered the same fate, but for the quick work of neighbors. The fire started around 10:30 a.m. in the upper portion of a wooden house on Pen Road and reports are it […]
The second disaster preparedness workshop for this week began today at the WASA conference room. Joan Burke from HECOPAB told us more. Joan Burke, Director, HECOPAB “The main objective is to prepare participants, to give them information so that they can acquire these skills to develop a disaster management plan. The agenda for today basically […]
We all remember the panic we felt when we heard Mitch was bearing down on Belize. But would we be better prepared if it happened again? This week a seminar is underway which is intended to help Belize not only react when disaster strikes, but plan for it way in advance. We are only one […]
Two children: Isandra Logan and Tisandra Logan lost their lives in a fire Saturday night on Tibruce Street and a third child Alden Logan Martinez died early Monday morning. Today Fire Chief Henry Baizar told News Five they have determined the fire was caused by negligence. Police told News Five they will be submitting a […]
Fires in Belize City are fairly common and fortunately most of the time the residents get out alive. But on Saturday night three little children were not so lucky. Reports to News Five are that they were left home alone and that candles may have been burning in the apartment. News Five spoke to Fire […]
A young woman drowned over the weekend off Sarteneja in the Corozal District. Police say twenty four year old Ana Patt of San Narciso was in a Mexican skiff which capsized about five hundred yards from shore Easter Sunday evening. Ten others in the boat were rescued but Patt failed to resurface. Her body was […]
It was a weekend of fires, with the most frightening incident, at least for one family occurred while they were still inside. Even more terrifying, however, is the fact that now it appears it was a case of arson. Today, residents of Faber’s Road extension are trying to find out who broke into a neighborhood […]
In related news, shopping in downtown Belize City came to a halt on Saturday afternoon, as thick smoke filled the air due to a raging fire on West Canal. People who had gathered to watch the fiery scene tried to help the National Fire Service tackle the blaze but there was little anyone could do […]
The Embassy of Columbia is asking Belizeans to help the people of Colombia recover from an earthquake two days ago. The Embassy says that a total of eight hundred people have been confirmed dead, while three thousand two hundred and eight are seriously injured. Charge D’ Affairs Pablo Rebolledo told News Five about the present […]
In related news, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has launched an initial appeal of eleven million Swiss Francs or about sixteen point five million U.S. dollars to help earthquake victims in Colombia. However, all donations are being requested in cash since the items needed can be purchased locally. The International Red Cross […]
