Krooman Lagoon Residents Voluntarily Evacuate in Preparation for Hurricane Earl
On Tuesday, we showed you the Krooman Lagoon area of Belize City where residents were resisting pleas to move to escape the projected flooding. Last October, the area was most affected after heavy rains; up to three hundred families were unable to leave the area after the heavy rains; the coastguard and CEMO had to rescue them from the rising waters. Today, Willoughby told News Five that finally the people had heeded the call.
Phillip Willoughby, CEMO
“I am proud that we have changed the mindset so quickly, for some time you know our culture would be, we will wait until later on tonight, just prior to the storm making landfall or trying to weather it out. extremely grateful and I am at peace with myself because of the good work that the media houses done to go behind there showing them the reality that we do care for them and I am extremely concerned for their safety, protecting property and preserving life, so I am extremely grateful that they heed the warning and they have taken our advice to relocate and utilize the shelters or even just to move out form behind there especially the person occupying the low lying area. I am grateful by the work that all of us has put in to this extent and continue to do going into this evening and this morning. So it continues.”
Duane Moody
“So in terms of evacuating people, do you find that you are getting more calls for you to go and take people out?”
Phillip Willoughby
Phillip Willoughby
“To this end I know they are working overtime collecting and collating data, acting and responding to information and so forth. Even though I believe that our success in doing the PR leg of it has been tremendous and well received, we will still have to if in the event people need to be rescued, we will still have to do that but at least we will see it a minimum I hope so again within itself, that is an accomplishment of its own and again applaud to yourself, Channel 5 for doing the great work that they have done thus far.”
