San Pedro Takes Early Precaution; Braces for Beryl

Residents and the business community of San Pedro have had numerous experiences with hurricanes threatening Belize over the past two decades. So, when the news emerged that Hurricane Beryl was heading in this general direction, the San Pedro Town Council wasted no time to mobilize and convene emergency management meetings. Even though Beryl has shifted course a bit and is now heading north of Belize, today, the town council met with the NEMO coordinator and the various departments. That meeting included the Coast Guard and even neighborhood watch groups to prepare themselves in the event Beryl changes course and jogs due west. News Five’s Marion Ali files a report on that meeting.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

The San Pedro Town Council is wasting no time in taking precautionary measures ahead of Hurricane Beryl, if the storm changes course and heads directly our way. Today, Mayor Wally Nunez told News Five that they have been asking the residents to seek higher ground and they have taken heed to that advice.

 

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“One of the things that we are looking at as NEMO is having a count of how much people are leaving the island up to this morning at 10 a.m. We had roughly around 600 people who had left the island.”

 

There is that group of people, however, that perhaps, because of their youth, are not taking the threat of a hurricane seriously. Mayor Nunez offered some useful advice to them.

 

 

Wally Nunez

“It is not something just to take it lightly. A lot of people are just planning hurricane parties and people are planning because they’re going to be off from work. I think we need to take it a lot more serious. I know some people haven’t experienced a hurricane before, but it is quite dangerous and it could be catastrophic.”

 

The plane and water taxi services have also taken an early decision to call off normal trips to and from the island as of Wednesday.

 

Wally Nunez

“Caribbean Swinter had informed that they would be closing off midday tomorrow. And also, Tropic Air had a release that they would be operating up until, I think it was 11 or midday tomorrow as well. I don’t know if they will have an update on that based on what the trajectory of the storm is taking.”

 

With only two hurricane shelters in San Pedro, Mayor Nunez said that it is prudent that the residents have been moving off the island on their own., The shelters are primarily used for the neediest people.

 

Wally Nunez

“We only have two places for shelters, use the shelters.  And they  don’t carry a lot of about or quite the number of people in there.  Compared to the amount of residents that here on the island so it is. It is for that same reason that we were asking for voluntary evacuation because,  you I know that during a storm. We need to find  a better location  or a secret area  areas where it’s higher. And even our shelters are not in the best location, but it’s what we have and what we can offer. So that’s for that same reason we were asking people to  find another location probably in the mainland.  But  we have, the sagebrush. And the other one is,  is a youth center from the Catholic Church, but the youth center from the church, we usually use it mostly for the disabled persons  for the elderly.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.