Mopan River Overflows in the Aftermath of TS Sara

The Mopan River started rising rapidly this morning after being flooded for the past three days. Tropical Storm Sara dumped over forty inches of rain in neighboring countries, and all that water is now flowing through the river system into Belize. Today, the Mopan River overflowed its banks and spilled onto the highway in San Jose Succotz, forcing authorities to close part of the road to motorists. Residents in the village and in Benque Viejo Town remember the river rising even higher back in 2020, but this is the worst it’s been since then. Tonight, there’s a lot of uncertainty about when the floodwaters will recede, and life will return to normal. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

This morning, the Mopan River, which flows through Benque Viejo Town and San Jose Succotz, started rising quickly. By mid-morning, two sections of the highway in Succotz were submerged under a couple feet of water. Local authorities had no choice but to close the road. All this flooding is the result of water flowing in from neighboring countries after Tropical Storm Sara. It is just before midday in San Jose Succotz and over night the Mopan River has risen to heights that have overtaken a portion of the highway in the village. This portion of the highway leads through the village into the Benque Veijo Del Carmen Town. This is one portion of the highway where we are currently standing that authorities in the community have decided to close. Today, residents were out in force, watching as the river continued to swell and flood the highway. We spoke with one villager who has been keeping a close eye on the rising waters over the past few days.”

 

Voice of: Succotz Resident

“Yesterday we came down and there were no water on the streets on the road. This morning when we came down I saw motorcycles going and people walking. But, it was not coming up to there. It was only where you see the yellow ban. Up to there was the river, now I see it much deeper. It is raising more. It is very alarming because we are trapped here we can’t go out.”

 

Despite the road closure, some residents were wading through the floodwaters. One person even took the opportunity to swim in the flooded drain, while others rode by on bicycles. At the village entrance along the river, a store owner was busy evacuating as the floodwaters had already started to seep into her shop.

 

Janet Dart, Store Owner

“Last night I mih the eena my bed and my husband that is all the way in Colorado called me and tell me ih the watch the news from Melchor and the river the rise and mek I come deal with everything. So I reach here about seven, lee bit before seven and the water mih deh way over that side, just mih the start come in, but now. Good thing they come tek the stuff out. So, we nuh really the build much worries, other than the mud cleaning afterwards.”

 

Paul Lopez

“We are now at the second portion of the road that is closed just outside of San Jose Succotz. This is the entrance to Benque Viejo Del Carmen Town. And If you look behind me there is a bridge that connects Benque to San Jose Succotz. That is completely inundated by water. As a result, authorities had to close it. And again the only way to get to Benque is through that detour that we took moments ago.”

 

The detour winds through the hills of San Jose Succotz, taking a less-traveled path. It’s far from ideal, with some rough patches along the way, but it served its purpose. Benque Viejo Mayor Jorge Rosales was on-site, overseeing the much-needed road repairs along the bypass.

 

Jorge Rosales, Mayor, Benque

“Seeing this we have to may sure the bypass is open. The road going down here is very deteriorated, because everything is rock is hard to fix. But we kind of made it easy to go down and not to come up. By the east side here by Vegas house we fix the next road which will be getting ou from Benque going into Succotz and this one goes into Benque. At the same time the truck coming from Guatemala are not able to come through, nor the buses like Fronte Del Norte they are not coming in..”

With the main road closed and large trucks and buses barred from using the detour, several tourists traveling by bus through the Belize-Guatemala border found themselves stranded with little to no information. We spoke with one tourist from Denmark who was on his way to Caye Caulker.

 

Clara Lendqvist, Tourist

“We learnt a little bit about the bad weather and the hurricane and stuff like that. But we didn’t think it would be this hard to get into Belize. We are going to Caye Caulker so we also need to get the ferry.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So what’s the update for you all right now?”

 

Clara Lendqvist

“Right now we are in a little waiting position. Four of our friends went to get some cash and hopefully we could get a taxi.”

In the heart of Benque, Benedict Palacio has been sitting on his back porch for the past few days watching the Mopan River rise. Being so close to the river usually offers stunning views when the water levels are normal. But on days like these, it’s a whole different story.

 

Benedict Palacio, Benque Viejo Town Resident

“We have done our mitigation. We have put our sandbag there, because we believe if it gets worst than this we have our basement downstairs and we wouldn’t want that to be flooded out. That would be the worst-case scenario for us. But I don’t think that will happen. I don’t think it will get worst than this. At least that is what I am praying for and keeping my fingers crossed.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez