7 News Belize

Low Pressure System Dumps 10 Inches of Rain On City, Produces Mass Flooding
posted (October 19, 2015)
October has been known as the stormiest month in Belize with many terrible hurricanes developing, including Hattie, and more recently Iris and Richard. But this weekend, it wasn't a storm; it was a low-pressure system that sat over central and northern Belize and produced copious showers and thunderstorms over a 32 hour time frame.

It left the city swamped, with many areas submerged. 7News was out in the rain all day yesterday - and Daniel Ortiz has this story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting After continuous downpour of rain for more than 30 hours, most Belize City streets were inundated on Sunday.

Areas hardest hit were Lake Independence, Collet, and Port Loyola. Even some of the well-built areas like the Pallotti Roundabout weren't spared.

Though most business were closed, and the rain continued unabated, residents still had to do their daily shopping.

So, most of them braved getting soaked. Umbrellas were all about, and this family even put their baby in a makeshift raincoat made out of plastic bag but to walk on these streets, there was no avoiding this flood.

Some waded through ankle-deep waters, some with the water reaching their knees, even bicycle wheels, were almost being covered.

One rider chose to put his bike on his shoulder. The water was so high that it covered wheel wells of lower cars, and most definitely got into the homes of some City residents, and destroyed their electrical appliances.

In some areas, we couldn't see where the streets ended, and where yards began, looking eerily like swamps.

We found one family trapped in their homes with young babies, hoping that CEMO would be able to get them out.

This mother had to put her child on her back to get him safely into their house.

This lady gave up on her umbrella, after all, the bottom third of her body was already below the water. It appeared to be quite a struggle to make her way down this main thoroughfare.

It's expected that the damages families experienced might amount to several millions. But while there will be an intensive recovery effort, the weekend flood wasn't all bad for all the city residents.

For some of them, the street corner became an outdoor pool or a makeshift waterpark. This young man danced out on his street corner, while this one floated his way down the street.

These two dove into the drain, and one of them became fully submerged. This family used a life raft to give this baby a nice ride.

There were quite a number of residents who appeared to enjoy being out in the rain.

But, for those who's homes and possessions were destroyed, they will not forget this weekend, when streets became slow-moving rivers…

Rivers in need of "no wake zone" signs.

The weather system that affected Belize City also caused localized flooding in Northern Belize and sent 116 persons into shelters, in San Jose and San Estevan, Orange Walk, and Corozal Town.

But, the system didn't only affect Belize. Mexico and our Central American neighbors also experienced torrential rains and it caused massive flooding in those countries.

In Honduras, the local media are reporting that 7 deaths have been caused by the flooding, while in El Salvador, 4 more have reportedly been connected to the downpour.

Right now, in there Mexico has declared a state of emergency in Quintana Roo, and surrounding areas where 25 communities are cut off.

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