Hurricane Beryl is now a category four hurricane as it barrels its way towards Jamaica where it is expected to make landfall into tomorrow. Earlier this morning, forecast models indicated a slight shift north in the storm’s projected path. Not much has changed with those projections throughout the course of today. As of six p.m., a tropical storm watch will be declared for Belize City all the way to Corozal. There is still a great deal of uncertainty as to where exactly Hurricane Beryl will make landfall, but it is expected to weaken and is already seeing decreased wind speeds. Hurricane Beryl will likely make landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula or Northern Belize as a category one hurricane. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon gave us the latest this afternoon.
Ronald Gordon
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, NMS
“The Hurricane continues to move rapidly west, north westward at twenty-two miles per hour and maximum sustained winds have decreased slightly. It is now a category four hurricane, a strong category four hurricane with maximum sustained winds of a hundred and fifty-five miles for hour. The latest satellite imagery I saw from Beryl is that the eye has become a bit more rapid, indicating that the system has been weaking due to the vertical wind shear and that is starting to affect the system. It would seem that the northern part of the country if it follows the most probable path will be the one on the fringes of tropical storm force winds. If it follows the worst case scenario and moves further south then of course hurricane force winds will affect that part of the country. The forecasted weakening indicates that at land fall it will be a category one hurricane. That is anywhere between seventy-four and ninety-five miles per hour, in terms of wind speeds and along with that we expect heavy rainfall near the center along with bands extending further out and of course storm surge to the north of the country which we don’t expect to impact the country of Belize.”
Daniel Mendez
Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, NEMO
“We have been watching the system closely alongside the met service. WE have continued our preparations across the country. All the national committees met this morning to formulate a plane that we will implement across the country in case it is needed. At this time we remain on standby. All of our district committees remain on alter and will be prepared to mobilize in the next few days as we watch the development of Hurricane Beryl heading our way.”
National Emergency Coordinator, Daniel Mendez is urging the nation to continue its preparations. He noted that even if this system does not cause any severe impact to Belize, we are still at the start of the hurricane season, so those plans will not go to waste.
Daniel Mendez
Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, NEMO
“In the meantime we continue to encourage the population to continue their preparations. It will not go to waste for sure. We also ask as you continue your preparations to reach out to those members of our community who are elderly, those with special needs and have some sort of disability, just check in to make sure their preparations are going well. Let us not forget them as we continue to work on this. NEMO will remain on standby throughout this period. The national Emergency Operation Center is in full operation and we will be monitoring this system for the next few days. We are on twenty-four seven watch along will all the coordinators across the country and we remain prepared to respond for anything. Our hotline is open, nine, three, six if you have anything to report or concern to share with us. We remain vigilant and we are prepared to respond as the storm gets closer.”
According to Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon, at least five models are in line with the current projections. This does not mean that the northern parts of Belize will not be impacted if the system makes land fall in Mexico.
Ronald Gordon
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, NMS
“In terms of consistency we have seen that at least the last five models run from about three p.m. one that came out yesterday afternoon is showing this system will take this projected path and head towards Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula. So I do reiterate that there is still a cone and a part of that cone still covers the extreme part of northern Belize, but it is a probability distribution and the highest probable path or the most likely probable path is at the center of that cone. We are confident enough in the forecast that we made the declaration at this point that we made the declaration. We have been communicating with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the hurricane experts. We have shared what we are seeing and based on our mutual discussion we believe the system will make landfall north of the country. We know the system is not a point where I have always emphasized to media houses please don’t force me to say exactly where it will cross the shoreline there are impacts beyond that point. Therefore even if it makes landfall where it is projected to, we do know that the hurricane force winds and tropical storm force winds extend from that center. Based on that information we certainly communicate with Mr. Mendez and with the Prime Minister and we were allowed, approved to declare a tropical storm watch for the country.”
Hurricane Beryl continues along a west-northwest path and, while officials from the Met service have indicated that Belize is unlikely to feel the brunt of the category four hurricane, northern districts such as Corozal and Orange Walk will experience heavy rainfall and flooding. The pathway of the storm is still being monitored as it may change course in the days ahead. News Five’s Britney Gordon took to the streets of Belize city to find out how prepared Belizeans are in the face of an approaching storm. Here’s more on that.
Britney Gordon
“Do you feel prepared for the hurricane? What are some of the things that you and your family are doing?”
Alex Sanker
Alex Sanker, Belize District Resident
“I don’t feel prepared. I am prepared. Because you live and learn from mistake and when I had just moved to where I live, I didn’t know and I think it was Dean or Lisa, but we got flooded out badly. Thank God I had a lot of stuff left just in case, but this time I’m definitely prepared. Although good news, I saw it shift a little bit left noh.”
Cynthia Coleman
Cynthia Coleman, Belize City Resident
“Well, we’ve been checking the news. I get the reels on my phone. And we’ve been checking the direction of how everything is going so. But we’re prepared. And today I’m out just trying to get some stuff so that we’ll have food for the weekend because I’m here with my aunt and she’s over eighty. I can’t say her real age, but she’s over eighty and we just want to make sure that we’re prepared for the storm.”
Britney Gordon
“And do you think your shelter is adequate to bear the brunt of potential flooding, winds?”
Cynthia Coleman
“Yes. Our house is above ground and it’s all cement. So we’re pretty much prepared.”
Martha Salam
Martha Salam, Orange Walk Resident
“Well, right now, my mom is moving to a new house. They have to move to the next house. They have to go with my sister. Because right now, it is full of water.”
Britney Gordon
“And what about food and water? Do you guys feel like you’re prepared that way?”
Martha
“Yes, we have to go shopping. Like me, I went shopping today at Orange Walk. Bought a lot of stuff for my family, help my family.”
Britney Gordon
“What about your children and grandchildren that you’re visiting here? Any concerns with them? Have they gone about shopping or anything like that”
Brenda Stephen
Brenda Stephen, Lords Bank Resident
“Well, I don’t stay with them. They live here in the city. I live in the village when I’m here in Belize, so I just hope that everything is well with them too. And they prepare for it and go shopping and don’t come outside. That’s the safest place to be is inside.”
Britney Gordon
“Do you feel that your family is prepared to handle that type of weather?
Colin Gillett
Colin Gillett, Belize City Resident
“I have the money. If you buy the item, but I’m going to wait until the second flag goes up. I’m not going to buy crazy just like that.”
Britney Gordon
“So you’re okay with what you have right now on supply for what you anticipate?”
Colin Gillett
“Yeah, I got the money and i just have to go buy it.”
Britney Gordon
“And what about your building that you’re living in, the structure, you think that’s adequately fit to handle winds and rain?”
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
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.”
Preparations are underway in several parts of the country, but the Corozal District stands to be the most impacted in Belize. NEMO’s Corozal District Office was activated on Tuesday morning. More than a dozen shelters have also been identified. Over at the Corozal Town Council, Mayor Rigoberto Vellos and his team are getting drains cleaned and debris removed. But how seriously are Corozal residents taking this storm? News Five’s Paul Lopez travelled north today. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
According to the latest update from the National Meteorological Service of Belize, the northernmost parts of the country remain in Hurricane Beryl’s projected path.
Ronald Gordon
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, NMS
“In terms of the projected path not much has changed since we last updated you. It is still forecasted to move generally west north westward for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours and impact the island of Jamaica on Wednesday. Thereafter the system will further weaken due to vertical windshear as it enters the northwestern Caribbean sea through Thursday and move west to northwest towards the Yucatan Peninsula with a likely landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula late Thursday night into Friday morning. The probability cone is still relatively wide up until landfall. It extends from the extreme northern parts of Belize all the way to the northern tip of Yucatan indicating a high level of uncertainty to that point.”
Giovanni Trimerous
Giovanni Trimerous, Corozal Town Resident
“Right now I am working at the casino. I don’t really have a plan because they haven’t told me yet if they will close the casino or not. I am waiting for my pay to so that I can buy my stuff and things like that.”
Today in Corozal Town was just another ordinary day. Businesses were open and residents walked the streets apparently carefree. As Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon indicated earlier, the extreme northern part of Belize remains in the cone of probability.
Giovanni Trimerous
“It is really a strong hurricane and I think it could cause so much damage here in the north, because it is coming for the north so.”
Mayor Rigoberto Vellos says residents were out in numbers on Monday night panic buying. Several hardware stores have reported being out of plywood already.
Rigoberto Vellos, Mayor, Corozal Town
“From yesterday, there were a lot of people who went into panic mode. I know they rushed the grocery stores, I know I think up to yesterday there were no plywood at the hardware store and so people are taking this serious which is a good sign. It is best we take it seriously than not to take it seriously and regret it afterwards.”
The National Emergency Management Organization’s District Office in Corozal was activated as of nine a.m. today. NEMO District Coordinator Ronnie Hernandez is urging residents in the town and surrounding villages to remain calm, but vigilant.
Ronnie Hernandez
Ronnie Hernandez, District Coordinator, NEMO
“If we are prepared, which we are doing. We have had so much days to do so, people will know that you need to go to a shelter in order to save your life first. You will not be there to save your property and lose your life. We can get back we can build back better, but our lives come first.”
Fifteen hurricane shelters have been identified by the NEMO Corozal District Team.
Ronnie Hernandez
“If we activate these shelters, meaning we declare these shelters open through NEMO headquarters we have Our Lady of Guadelupe, Cristo Rey, Corozal Community College, Concepion, Caledonia, Buena Vista, Mary Hill, Louisiana Ville, Pachakan, Copper. Bank, Progresso and Escuela Secondaria Technica Mexico.”
Those shelters remained closed when we spoke with Hernandez around midday, in the absence of a declared watch or warning. But, later in the afternoon, Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon informed reporters that he has advised NEMO to declare a tropical storm watch.
Ronald Gordon
“Given the fact that we will likely experience tropical storm force winds and there is a possibility of tropical storm force winds for the northern part of the country, we have been communicating with the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida and I have been advised NEMO Coordinator who have liaised with the prime minister and we will be declaring a tropical storm watch at the six p.m. advisory at six p.m. this evening. that will extend from Belize City, moving northward to the border, including the islands of San Pedro and Caye Caulker.”
A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area during the next forty-eight to seventy-six hours. In Corozal, the town council is working to clear the drainage systems in flood prone areas. Mayor Vellos has a live hurricane tracker projected to the wall inside the town hall’s conference room.
Rigoberto Vellos
“We are taking this very serious and that is the message I want to leave to my Corozalenos and all Belizeans, not to take this for granted, regardless if it is just the tail we need to be prepared. This is our command center, we also have a committee, the town council disaster committee, that will bunk out here if anything. We want to ensure that we are responsible enough as a town council and we deal with our residents with love.”
Hurricane Beryl is still over a thousand miles away from Belize, but already it is affecting business in the country. On Monday, the Belize Sugar Industries Limited stopped receiving burnt cane to prepare for the passage of the hurricane. The crop would have come to an end in the next few weeks; however, the premature closure will result in losses to cane farmers in the northern districts. B.S.I., in a press release, explained that it needed to shut down operations because it needed sufficient time to render the mill and cogeneration plants safe before the hurricane. After that two-day process, the factory must then finalize its hurricane preparations to allow employees twenty-four hours to also carry out their personal hurricane preparations. Today, News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with Alfredo Ortega, the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association Vice Chairman of the Committee of Management, about the losses caused by the recent floods and the early closure caused by Beryl. We also got a word with Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai about the two situations. Here’s that report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
What began as a significant loss to canefarmers in the north, can be made worse should Hurricane Beryl cause flooding in the sugar belt which is already inundated by recent floods. Alfredo Ortega, the Vice Chairman of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association’s Committee of Management, tells News Five that the recent rains came at the most inopportune time for the caneros, just when Tower Hill was processing more than regular amounts.
Alfredo Ortega
Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A.
“When they started to increase their milling, it’s when the rain fell and it was so hard for the farmers to bring all that cane. And what happened also is that it increased. The amount for the farmers to bring all that in from the field because they had to use other tractors and some of them had to bring it out with the loaders and it really increased the cost for the group leaders to bring all that cane from the field and with the abrupt stuff that happened the farmers had to lift that amount of cane in the fields at which amount.”
The Minister of Agriculture anticipates that Hurricane Beryl will not cause severe flooding to exacerbate the existing problem. The wait and see, however, is causing precious time to slip by.
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“I am not sure if we will have time to reopen the mill again, to be honest. From what I understand, a lot of product was lost in the flooding, and also we had to stop production, so what already had been burnt is going to be lost as people go home and prepare for the upcoming hurricane.”
Britney Gordon
“Is there any sort of figure you can give me in regards to the loss of cane?”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“No, because yesterday when the mill closed, it was at midday. I was called by a few people – farmers expressed that they still had cane in the fields being harvested, so I asked them to try to get the cane out before the mill closes but they were struggling to get it out in the wet cane fields.”
Ortega says that the current losses caused by the floods are estimated at around two thousand tons of burnt cane alone. This is separate from cane that is still in the ground. Those losses won’t be determined until after the crop closes in a few weeks.
Alfredo Ortega
“What the personnel from B.S.I. was speaking [about] is that they believe that they can go if the weather permits to mid July or a little bit more if the weather permits. So we don’t know exactly what for a date right now to finish, but what they said is in the mid of this month that just started. But as we speak, that we have the threat of the hurricane, maybe not a direct landfall, but we will be having an amount of rain due to that. And we don’t know what will be the extent of the damage or the flooding that we’ll be having with them, so we don’t know if this is the end of the crop or we will be having some more days after the hurricane. So we cross our fingers.”
B.S.I. is working with canefarmers to improve the climate resilience of their crops by supporting the replanting of cane varieties. This would decrease the industry’s dependency on one variety alone. Ortega explains that this is a program the factory is offering them. He says that it is something that some farmers accept and some still have reservations about.
Alfredo Ortega
“They called it in Agro-Pro, I believe on which they are giving services to farmers on planting or replanting their fields again, on which they are proposing different varieties that they have. Nevertheless, there are some farmers that are somewhat sceptical to the new varieties because they have had a bad experience before with new varieties being planted on their field. It’s accepted by some because they really want to have new plantings on or better yields on their field, but there is an amount of farmers that are really sceptical on getting that service for them because at the same time, the service is a little bit high, and it’s like a, loan that you get for that service to happen.”
Heavy rainfall has hit Belizeans in more ways than one. In Northen Belize, excessive rains have resulted in flooding not only in residential communities, but also in the agricultural sector. Several fields of crops have been destroyed or delayed production, resulting in scarcity and high price increases. Produce affected include items such as tomatoes, cilantro and peppers. News Five’s Britney Gordon visited the Michael Finnegan market today to learn how this has affected Belizeans.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
If you, like many other Belizeans, purchase your produce locally, then you would know that Tuesday is market day. From as early as five a.m., dozens of customers flock to the stands at their local markets to hunt for the best deals. These days, however, the search has become significantly more difficult, as the prices of fruits and vegetables skyrocketed within the past week. We spoke with Florita Tzib, a vendor for the past thirty-eight years at the Michael Finnegan Market, to find out how her business has been impacted by the change.
Britney Gordon
“You sell habanero, which is something that went up recently. How have you found customers react to this?”
Florita Tzib
Florita Tzib, Vendor
“I really have a lot of customers and my customers sometimes them tell us why the price is so high so I tell them we can’t explain to you because sometimes we bring our product and sometimes the product we bring, we sell it different price and sometimes when we buy we have to sell it expensive just like how we buy it because we have to make our profit. And sometimes when we ask the person that sell it if them could put down the price and they tell me no that is the price and that is the price and they no bring the price not at all. So, when my customers come and ask, I explain to them why the product is so expensive because we buy. And when I bring my things then I sell it different.”
There are several products, such as tomatoes and cilantro, whose prices have seen a sharp increase. But it is the cost of habanero peppers, that are selling anywhere between twenty and thirty-five dollars per pound, that have left many pepper sauce lovers reeling. Colin Gillett, a frequent shopper at the market, says that it is in times like these, that he makes do without certain items.
Colin Gillett
Colin Gillett, Customer
“I buy tomato, cabbage, cilantro, the usual stuff and fruits that are in a season, but I don’t know if that’s due to the flooding, they make the items expensive, but my pay noh di go up. So if I think the item is too expensive for me, I just don’t buy it.”
There are several factors contributing to the increase in prices, namely the recent excessive rainfall, flooding across the country and a combination of fungi and insects. Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai explained that while these are factors that contribute to a shortage every year around this time of year, the intensity of the rainfall has exacerbated the issue in the region.
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“At this time of the year, every year you have rainfall, you have fungus, you have bacteria. But this year, it is extremely hot and humid, and then excess rainfall one week after. So you have both extremes, and I’ve never seen it like this before. And that is what affected us, and now it’s an abrupt end of vegetables. You don’t see any vegetables. You see it last two weeks and now there’s none. And so it is very clear. It is very extremely strange, right? Not only to us in Belize, but even the Mexicans in the peninsula. But every year we have this type of problem, not as intense as this year. It’s expected that you will have a shortage of vegetables at this time of the year.”
To alleviate the severity of the issue, the ministry is currently working towards opening greenhouses across the country so that farmers will have an extra supply of produce when weather conditions damage their crops. Mai said that while this may not end a scarcity, it will minimize it.
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“We have issued hundreds of greenhouses throughout the districts, and this is where climate smart agriculture comes in. You have an alternative to production out in open fields. You have no greenhouses. So the greenhouses are supposed to kick in now to have your cilantro, to have your hot peppers, your sweet peppers, and a few cabbages. You don’t have a lot like you have open production, open field production, but you’re still supposed to have a little to supply the market.”
Fifty-year-old Martin Carcamo, a security guard employed at the bus terminal here in Belize City, is in trouble with the law for stealing an iPhone 12 from a woman police officer. The incident happened around 6:30 a.m. on Monday at the Michael Finnegan Market where Corporal Georgina Bartley was having breakfast. She alleges that she placed her cell phone on the table while having the meal and, a few minutes later, she saw a tall, dark-skinned man approach the stall. Shortly thereafter, Bartley realized that her phone was missing. When she inquired about the whereabouts of the device, Carcamo reportedly walked away and headed in the direction of King Street. The twenty-eight-year-old woman, who was in casual attire, pursued Carcamo and informed him that she is a police officer and would call for backup if he did not produce the phone. Upon hearing that Carcamo surrendered the device. At the same time a police mobile approached and he was detained and taken into custody at the police station where he was later charged for theft. When he appeared before the lower court, Carcamo was arraigned on a single count of theft. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of twelve hundred dollars, plus one surety of the same amount.
Clarita Pech, who has been employed with the National Assembly for the past twenty-five years, has been appointed Acting Clerk of the National Assembly. Her ascension from Deputy Clerk comes in the wake of the resignation of Eddie Webster who held the post of Clerk of the National Assembly for the past fourteen years. Earlier today, the Speaker of the House of Representatives received the official instrument from the Governor General appointing Pech to the position which also serves as the accounting officer for the offices of the Contractor General, the Ombudsman and the integrity commission.
