7 News Belize

Storm stories…..
posted (October 25, 2010)
And just like that was our storm story - everyone in the city - particularly those on the coast have one.

The City hadn't been hit by a storm dead-on since Hattie in 1961 - so most of the residents of the country's most populous municipality have no idea what a hurricane means. And for those who survived Hattie, a category 5 storm, well they figured at a mere category one, Richard couldn't be all that bad.

But the storm exceeded expectation, particularly in terms of storm surge. And in the yabra area that's pelt out disaster. Many of those homes are plywood or board and they are directly on the coast. When the storm it and the rising waters followed it was chaos for those resident's Monica Bodden spoke to a number of them today:….

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Last night when I look I see a building of mines just take away into the next building as you can see it back there; it destroyed most of the rooms that people are living in. Right now most of them lost partly everything, up to about 5-6 feet of gushing water from the sea."

Monica Bodden
"Have you ever experience a hurricane before? "

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I never, I only experience maybe storm, with Greta and a little storm in the 80s but nothing like this."

Monica Bodden
"You didn't expect it to be this bad."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I never really expect it. I know when I hear about a category 1 I hear that it wouldn't be devastated hurricane."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Frustrated."

Monica Bodden
"Where do you go from here?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Well I don't know. I have to just try and rebuild."

Monica Bodden
"What all did you loss."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"My pot, stove refridge, everything that I use to do my little business because I do a small business by Palm Island; I cook rice and beans & cow foot soup and sell there. I just have to try to rebuild and pick up the pieces from there."

Monica Bodden
"I am looking outside and I see your cooler, your table, your step....."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"My fire heart that I use to cook my cow foot; everything is just gone."

Monica Bodden
"How are you feeling right now?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Bad....emotional but you have to try be strong, you have life and you have to just left everything else to God. Without he we can't get anything. We have heath and strength we have life so I think we will make it. Somebody might be out there to try and assist me and help me at least to get back my pot, the stove, the refridge, I need those to start all over again. So anybody out there who know the niceness of the rice & beans and the cow foot, try reach out for me - Ms. Gayna."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I feel bad because it's God's work yes but I mean to say to see the condition of the house is in because its only me alone I don't have a husband to try clean up and so."

Monica Bodden
"Everywhere is full up with mud?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Yes the bedrooms both of them are full of mud."

Monica Bodden
"Where do you go from here?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Well I have to try and sleep here. We don't have any water as yet. My neighbor told me that he went to get salt water to wash out the mud from his house, that's is the same thing I want to do before the mud gets hard because we don't know when the water will come on."

Monica Bodden
"This is where your house was right?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Yes this same spot that we are standing here my house was. My house gone completely; See my flooring over there on the ground. That is my house top over there it was on top of another house that was crush. I just remove my house top from his house so that he could have moved his things. See my TV, stove over there, everything is broken up. Right now I am here and I want to build back something because my girlfriend is pregnant and I don't have anywhere to stay. I don't have anyone that I can stay right now. I am dread right now."

Monica Bodden
"So you don't have anywhere to go right now?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"There is nowhere we can stay right now. And If I wanted to built back something a small room from the little that is left I can't because I don't have any money not even to buy nail."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I am trying to get back on my foot so that I can have somewhere to stay. I am trying to get back by any means."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"All what I need is an assistance because right now I don't have anywhere to stay and I am a musician and I lost my drums."

Monica Bodden
"Your whole house gone?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Definitely, I would appreciate a help from anybody who could assist me."

Monica Bodden
"So nothing didn't stay, everything just gone?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Everything just wash away, I was right here too in that house."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Well see my house the little grey one. This house was all the way over here. The sea came up and takes the house away. So it's just a little assistance we need."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I might could be a man who can build a hammock in a tree and relax there once it's not raining but I can't have my girlfriend living in that way. I have to try and secure her someway safe when she wants to use the bathroom, have a nice safe bathroom that she can use. So I need that little assistance, anything that it takes to happen I will try help myself or if someone is there who can help me I will make them help me but you know how things go they usually say if people don't help you, you help yourself, which means that's it doesn't matter how or what you do to help yourself, you will do it."

Monica Bodden
"But emotionally you guys lose everything, you are just standing up on a spot where your house was. What's that like? You will have to start over."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"It really dread and it's very hard for you to think about just doing things upon your own self. We would really appreciate the help."

Victim of Hurricane Richard "We didn't realize that the water was rising. My gate pop open and so I plan to get pieces of string because my mind tell me not to use the chain because I don't want to chain in myself so I just take the piece of rope and I tie it and come back in the house, about half an hour later I said let me check outside again; I push it but I can't push the door, anyway I push the door and when I did that the water was already about two and a half feet, so I slam back the door and I tell her that we are in trouble now; the water come. So we just start to pack as much stuff as we can and I got the aluminum ladder and went to the attic. When I came again I wanted to see how far the water had reach, I could open the door at all it was like 3 stringer guys than me had the door clamp down and it was unlock and so we got our main belongings and put them together. I call one of my friend that works with me and he said that he will see how far his diesel van can come but I didn't hear from him again, he was helping because he call for help, but it seems that the water was too high for him to come and rescue. I said that I will give it one last try again and with all my strength I push open the door, the water was already like 4 feet and when I got on the street it was much higher. So we just start to walk in the middle of the street, I look at the sea just boiling over. It felt like you are watching a movie. Before I left I see my car doing a 360 and that was just because of the currents."

Monica Bodden
"At any point last night you guys thought that well you know this is it we are going to drown."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"No, I tell my friend because I felt that really. When I check the door I say ok that's it but before I will give it one last try and so I gave it one last try and that was it, we break loose and we got through it."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"It was an experience for us that we never experience before because we never see Belize like this before. We always thought that a hurricane was just something that you take for a joke but today we realize this hurricane has given us the full impact that hurricanes are not to play with."

Monica Bodden
"So you weathered out the storm where?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Well I was downstairs and after a period of time we had to move to the upper level of the building."

Monica Bodden
"Why you guys had to move?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Well the water was coming in so rapidly that even the bed was afloat and it was very frightening so this is something that I have to tell my grand children. I would want nobody to experience this type of living that I met when I came back downstairs, the mud was on the bed, my sheets, my clothes, everything was soaking wet, and we lose everything. What you see me wearing is all I have everything is gone, I hope that somebody can help us."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I was laying down in my bed listening to the music on the radio and I just doze off and I wake up to a lot of water. I open my door and a lot of water splash on me, I had to swim out and I run upstairs to Bishop and ask for help because too much water was coming. This is first hurricane I experience so I don't really know about it."

Monica Bodden
"Now, in that period of time that you was listening to the music and doze off. How long would you say before the water got so high?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I doze off for 15-20 minutes before I conscious that water was running and water in the hall way. Everything is wet up, the TV, everything gone."

Monica Bodden
"So when you jump out of bed how high did the water reach you?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"You can see the water level right there, it covered my bed."

Monica Bodden
"It's your first ever hurricane. What was the experience like for you?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"It was a bad experience; I hope I don't experience that again because I could have died here last night."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I was upstairs Miss and I saw the water getting high and my dog was on the chain so I had to go downstairs, the water reach me right here and I had to swim to get my dog because my dog could have drown because the dog was on the chain."

Monica Bodden
"Was the experience scary for you?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"Yes ma'am. Miss but I wasn't afraid I just jump off the step and swim for my dog."

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"My little girl and I were here and every minute she is peeping outside so I tell her to come in here to help me but she said that she don't want to help me because she is worrying about out there. She said come mom and see how all the sea gone, the water gone to only sand and when we look about halfway it was only land, dry land but I couldn't believe it because I had faith that storm wouldn't come and that it would go like how the others did. I was here trying to pack up things, putting the TV higher and when I peep out again I didn't see any water al all out here but when I when I climb to the window about 15-20 minutes after that is because I couldn't see anything, the electricity had cut off and I hear was blip blip under the house. Then I feel like the house was tearing apart, I hear bops; the back door fly open, we had it jam with 2 cement blocks and the bolt. When this door fly open I tell you I haven't been frightened all my life like that. I quickly ran from here, the stove was right here and the water pick it up and threw on the other side of the house. The water keeps coming in; one instance the water came right over my head. The water start to burst open the door and come in, I see everything start to float about I didn't have any choice all I manage to grab was a white sling bag. We stand up by the door and the house was raking, We were all praying, I couldn't pray anymore because I see all that was happening, I heard crack crack and I say to myself that I didn't have any choice, I had given up, so my baby sit there and said mom no give mom God will help us, so I start to walk up and down in the water while it slams me from side to side. I had to hold on to the things in the house so that I wouldn't end up through the back door. I hug up my baby and said they we will die together because there is no one to rescue us now. My baby said no mom don't give up, remember what you always tell me that you are a fighter; she said pray and she handed me a rosary, both of us hold on to the rosary and we start to pray "Our Father and Hail Mary" so after a little while I heard noises out there, the door was forcing its way to close and I was trying to pull it open, I heard my neighbor mouth and they were coming through the water to help us and I said thank God we are rescued. That is how they back us out from here."

Monica Bodden
"Who rescued you?"

Victim of Hurricane Richard
"I don't even know, I was so frightened. All I know is that it was 4 men."

And while those are the gripping personal storm accounts - there is also the official side of the story - the cost of Richard and the wide swath of wreckage that he cut - we'll have that when we come back …

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