7 News Belize

Earl Lashed Ladyville And Vista Del Mar
posted (August 5, 2016)
Now where was really "Ground Zero" for Hurricane Earl? We don't mean where the eye hit…that was somewhere south of Belize City; we mean: where were the hardest winds and rains concentrated? Most folks - especially those in the Belize District - would, understandably say, "MY BACK YARD!" And there's certainly truth in that: after all, unless you went through Hattie in 1961 - Belize District residents have never experienced anything like Earl.

And while every storm survivor has his or her own story of a very scary storm, the evidence of serious storm-related damage seems most concentrated in Vista Del Mar and LAdyville. I went to that area today where residents told me what it was like:...

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Looking at these yards, it might seem like these Vista Del Mar residents were having a community yard sale Or were getting rid of old mattresses and other junk. But they were definitely not selling or giving away anything today, all these clothes and appliances were their most cherished belongings that they are now trying to salvage. Hurricane Earl hit these residents hard, most people lost everything.

Even their vehicles were damaged by all the water and had to be air dried as well. As these residents slowly get their lives back together, they reflect on trauma and havoc that Hurricane Earl has left behind.

Voice of Hurricane Survivor
"The craziness started when the water started to come in through the floor. I went to the front door and I saw water coming in through the two sides of the door with crazy pressure. I peeped through the window and saw water just rising past my knee inside of the house and my bed started to float, it lifted with my baby. All of us were in one room to pass the hurricane. After the bed got covered with water, I put the kids and even the little puppy on the table. The fridge slipped and started to float in the house, everything started to float, all the plates and everything was about the place. When I looked outside where my car was parked, half of the car was full of water and where the street was, water was running down the street like river. Outside was like sea, everywhere you look there was water high above your hip. For the people who haven't seen it, it's a crazy thing. Everywhere I looked I saw water."

Enrique "Rick" Alvilez, Hurricane Survivor
"We all got frightened because the water was like here. We don't have anything, literally nothing. If you look at the windows, the sea was up there. I tried to put my son on the roof but I couldn't."

So they all sat up on the kitchen counters but the water kept rising and soaked every single thing in all the rooms. And left debris at the back of the house. When we arrived they had just finished cleaning out the mud on their floors.

For Walter Burnley, he still has a lot of work to do, Clearing out all their ruined possessions and scraping off the hardened mud pasted on the driveway and inside the house.

Walter Burnley, Hurricane Survivor
"Everything is muddy, septic, dirty sea really. The mud was like this thick inside the house but it's a good thing we got it all out."

But there are some things he just refused to let go of, like these family photos. Burnley told us that above all he is just glad that he and his family, especially his 3-month-old granddaughter are all okay.

Walter Burnley, Hurricane Survivor
"It was terrible. We're all safe so that's the main thing, especially the baby."

Security Guard Harrison Brackett is also grateful that he and his family were not harmed and that most of his stuff was spared from the water damage, although a portion of his roof was blown off. Brackett told us what he found when we came home after the storm.

Harrison Brackett, Hurricane Survivor
"The first thing I saw was my mother's house on the corner, went down three houses, trees dropped on top of it and when I came this side I saw my roof gone."

Courtney Weatherburne
"You didn't lose a lot of stuff you said. It didn't flood out."

Harrison Brackett, Hurricane Survivor
"No it didn't flood out much. I just got my rugs wet and a few other things but most of my things stayed dry."

And it's hard for this family to stay dry with the water still in their house, they are left with nothing after the storm

Courtney Weatherburne
"So today you guys are just trying to sweep all the water, in the rooms you still have water."

Diodoro Novelo, Hurricane Survivor
"That's right, we have to sweep out everything before we can do something and start to repair right?"

We also went over to Japan area of Ladyville, where the damage was also evident: houses were flooded out and leaning to the side. Others were completely destroyed, literally lifted from its frame like this one. The winds tore off the top of this house. We found the devastated owner at her relative's house trying to come to terms with her loss.

Mirna Bol, Mother of 4
"I was across by my neighbor, the whole roof came off and then it just broke down the entire house and wet up everything. We lost sofa, TV, bed, everything, we're left with nothing."

Courtney Weatherburne
"So right now it's just that structure that's there?"

Mirna Bol, Mother of 4
"That's all that's left yes, we lost everything, uniform clothes, and kids' books, everything for school."

Courtney Weatherburne
"You have some of your stuff here and at your neighbor's house as well."

Mirna Bol, Mother of 4
"Yes we're drying some right now and across at our neighbor we left other things, so all of our things are all about."

Courtney Weatherburne
"What are you planning to do now? Where are you going to stay? You have to rebuild a house."

Mirna Bol, Mother of 4
"Yes well right now Ms. Beverly came to see us yesterday and she said she would help us so we're waiting for her right now."

While they are counting on assistance, the police are doing all they can to give support. We bumped into Inspector Juanito Cocom and he told us about they have in place to deal with all these hurricane survivors.

Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"We came out here and the time during the storm it was very windy, raining and everything but we were told a lot of people needed help out here to evacuate so we came here. Our vehicle couldn't pass more from this area so we parked the vehicle there and we waked from house to house evacuating people, putting them in the vehicle and taking them to shelters. The vehicle came back and forth but primarily we were focusing on kids, they were our main focus because the water was about 4-5 feet high and kids wouldn't make it through the water. So we were focusing on kids and at the same time leading the adults and telling them exactly which area to pass through."

Courtney Weatherburne
"How many people would you say that you evacuated roughly?"

Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"I would estimate about 125 people. We still have our contingency plan in place, we have half of my personnel out in the day and half out at night. We still have our patrols to ensure that everybody is okay."

Tonight, about half of the Belize district including Ladyville remains under blackout - going into the 48th hour without power.

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