Is Belize Prepared for Another Hurricane?

Nearly one month into hurricane season, the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management, NEMO, and the National Meteorological Service are evaluating Belize’s plan for the ongoing season. Day two of the twelfth National Climate Outlook Forum got underway in Belize city this morning, where several organizations discussed the strategies that will be implemented moving forward. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended today’s event to learn how prepared Belize is for the 2024 hurricane season. Here’s more on that.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

In 2023, Belize was spared from all the seven hurricanes that tore through the Atlantic during the fourth most active hurricane season since 1993. Nonetheless, Hurricane Lisa, a category one storm that made landfall in 2022, devastated Belize, leaving in its wake hundreds of millions of dollars in structural damage and economic losses. So, is Belize prepared for another Hurricane? That is the question that key stakeholders are seeking to answer at the twelfth National Climate Outlook Forum. Daniel Mendez, coordinator of NEMO, explains.

 

Daniel Mendez, Coordinator, NEMO

“We are in the middle of the hurricane season. So by now, everyone should have had a plan already. You should know where to go, what you’re going to do if there’s ever a storm developing in our area. So what we’re doing with the MET service today is really to understand the outlook for this season for us at NEMO. We need that for planning purposes. So we can know where to go, what to do, and how we’re better guided in our work. But like I said, in the hurricane season we at government, have a plan, and we also want to ensure that every sector, every organization, every home, every person has also a plan on knowing what to do if there’s ever that in our area.”

 

 

The intensification of dry and wet season is a direct result of climate change. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon says that extended dry seasons are becoming a more common occurrence.

 

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, National Meteorological Service

“What we’re seeing is that gradually our dry season is becoming more intense as we saw recently with wildfires and the extreme dry temperatures that we had. We also noticed that sometimes at the start of rainy season, we get rains, but then eventually we get an extended what we typically used to call the maaga season. That’s between around July to August. Sometimes we get an intense dry spell as well. So we noticed that there are changes occurring. And of course, we know that our temperatures are increasing. As we look at our data every year, we monitor our temperatures, they are going up. So It is quite clear that we are in the area of climate change and temperatures are increasing.”

 

 

The Ministry of Disaster Risk Management’s preparation includes engaging all partners in information sharing, planning, response and recovery strategies.

 

Kennedy Carillo, C.E.O., Disaster Risk Management

“Many times we feel that NEMO is just one organization responsible. But in reality, NEMO is a system, it’s a national system that includes governmental, non-governmental and we have a lot of partners in the private sector community. Everybody, even you, at your home. You are part of Nemo.”

 

Carillo further explains that the Met Service plays a key role in ensuring that Belizeans are informed and prepared. Stakeholder engagement in this conversation is vital.

 

Kennedy Carillo

“The Met Service engages a group of technical experts who on a regular basis are being trained. They’re identifying areas, new areas for to be trained. They’re also improving in terms of their technology. And so I think that our country can really feel proud. That we have a met one of the best met service in the region so much so that countries in the Caribbean and even in the US depend on us for information, and I think this is what we’re getting from these forums. The opportunity to recognize where there are areas for improvement.”

 

 

The outcome of Belize’s 2024 Hurricane season is yet to be determined, however, Mendez assures the public that NEMO and its partners are doing their part to ensure that Belize is as prepared for the season as possible.

 

Daniel Mendez

“We are doing our best to strengthen our systems. We have been doing a lot of revision of our plans. We know that we have to strengthen our plans, and we also have to be better understanding the increased hazards, the increased capacity of these hazards to cause damage. So we are in the middle of a review of all our plans and strengthening those, not only within NEMO, but also within all our partner committees. Also with the different villages and municipalities in the country.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.