Overnight rains in Toledo inundates Southern Highway

Wil Maheia

Torrential rains overnight in the south have resulted in flooding in the Toledo District.  This morning, commuters along the Southern Highway were delayed near the Jacintoville Bridge where several inches of water inundated the thoroughfare for a few hours.  Although the area is considered a flood prone location, traffic was interrupted until midday when the water slowly began to recede.  Residents of the village also complain of murky water entering their homes.  While the month of June was unseasonably dry in Toledo, the start of July has brought with it heavy rainfall.  News Five spoke with our colleagues from PGTV earlier today and Wil Maheia gave us the following update.

Via Phone: Wil Maheia, PGTV

“The heavy rains began just about midnight and it continued till about seven a.m. this morning. Several inches of rainfall fell just in that part of the Toledo district, the area of Jacintoville, San Felipe, Santana Area. I would say over five inches of rain in that area. It resulted in the flooding of two villages—the Jacinto Bridge and the Cuevas Bridge—which blocked up the traffic for the entire morning. More than like twenty vehicles and buses on the other side were prevented from coming into town because of the floods.”

Isani Cayetano

“What are the residents saying? Were they displaced? What was the extent of the flooding with regards to the houses in the area?”

Via Phone: Wil Maheia

“This is an area that is prone to flooding and there were like two to three houses that really came under water. The good news is that this area also, the water runs off pretty quickly. So by midday today, the water moved away from the highway.”

Isani Cayetano

“What has the weather situation been like in the south over the past few days? I know that the south gets more rainfall than here in Belize City where it is presently dry.”

Via Phone: Wil Maheia

“Well we just got into July which is the rainiest month in the district. June was unseasonably dry, but July definitely started off with a bang and last night was the evidence of that. So right now it is overcast and there are more predictions for rains tonight.”

We’ll have more on the weekend weather in our nightly weather report.