Last week, we took you inside the Civic Center - to see the very decked out interior of the most expensive public or private structure ever built in Belize. And while ti will serve as a sports facility and concert venue, it's also a hurricane shelter. But, as the designer explained off camera - its not necessarily meant to serve as a shelter for regular folks running from the storm. Here's how he put it:...
Voice of: Daniel Arguelles, ARCHITECT - I.E.
"No more than two thousand occupants should occupy the building during the event of a hurricane - and that is simple for the fact that although we have 90,000 gallons of water, 20,000 gallons back up plan water in the roof. The use of the building should be there to assist in the ultimate last resort in the event that they say Belize City should be evacuated. The people that will be holding down the fort in the city, it's reserved for them to man the fort, so to speak, while at the last minute they can still function and operate emergency services from this shelter. It is large enough to sustain two thousand people for at least a week, we have a backup generator system that can sustain that time, and we have potable water 47:30 system that can sustain that time as well."
Water levels would have to rise by 15 feet to compromise the 90 thousand gallon cistern.
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