***FLOOD DISASTER IN BELIZE*** [updated:6/2/08]
FWD MSG: view images of Southern Belize Flooding

As you probably might have heard on the news, Belize experienced one of the worst flash floods in recent history. Belize got a rough beginning of the 2008 hurricane season when tropical storm Alma (coming off the Pacific) merged with tropical storm Arthur (Atlantic) just off Belize, and dumped a deluge of water on all six districts on Sunday night. While rains were not very heavy at the start of the storm, they intensified on Sunday night, bringing hurricane-type conditions that spawned a destructive tornado in Crooked Tree, which residents claim they have never experienced before. The worse hit was in the rural Stann Creek area, where seven persons lost their lives. The Kendall Bridge vanished in the deluge of the flood and large chunks of the Hummingbird Highway were wiped out. A double culvert was washed away, leaving a 20 ft. gap in the Hummingbird Highway road The most affected areas were the low-lying coastal villages of Gales Point and Mullins River and the low-lying communities of Sarawee, Hope Creek, Sittee River and Middlesex in Stann Creek, from where evacuees had to be airlifted or transported by boat tosafety. The coastal road that connects the Belize and Stann Creek Districts was, for the most part, under water and massive flooding was reported on the Northern Highway, particularly along the stretch between Orange Walk and Corozal. Several boats (around 65) were reportedly submerged off Ambergis Caye. By Monday p.m., hundreds of people were waiting for assistance - some trapped on housetops, others in flooded homes and yet others in rising waters. The Government of Belize, through the Coast Guard, the Police, and the B.D.F. teamed up with BATSUB (British Army Training Support Unit) to activate search and rescue missions and to evacuate flood victims via boat and chopper. Agricultural lands were also under water - citrus and shrimp farms in the south and rice and cane fields in the north. The total damage assessment is not in as yet, but it is estimated that it will take about ten million dollars to replace the bridge at Kendall, which has cut off the Southern District from the rest of the country. Relief efforts are being targeted at as many as 6,000 people, many of whom are only left with the clothes on their backs, and major infrastructural repairs will be needed down South. A few houses in Belize City - in Port Loyola, Collet, Lake I and Belama were partially destroyed, but nothing major. The Chief Met Officer reports that on the Mopan River in Cayo, more rising waters are expected as rainfall in Peten and North Guatemala continues to drift this way and flooding is still expected to affect the Belize River area in the next day or so. Anyhow, thank God that the loss of lives was not worse, though this is no consolation for the families who lost loved ones. In one family, the Ritchies, only the husband was left. His wife, daughter and son lost their lives when their house was swept away with his family inside. That's it, in a nutshell. Let us hope reconstruction can start soon and that Belize has learned some lessons this time around. If you would like to render assistance to this cause, you can send a cheque to Belize Red Cross, P.O. Box 413, #1 Gabourel Lane, Belize City, Belize.