And while the Unitedville flash flood was an isolated event - the Cayo District is under close watch tonight because river levels are rising. This is most visible at the Iguana Creek Bridge which continues to rise at this hour. District Coordinator Al Westby told us about the water levels at the dam:..
Al Westby - NEMO Coordinator, Cayo
"Just the last report I got from a BECOL rep that all three dams are rising still. So, that's not...it's good and bad news for us - they're taking in water, but they're not spilling as yet. The Iguana Creek bridge is under water. We have different areas that tributaries come and contribute to these cutoff areas. We have to look at San Marcos, which is a village within the Buena Vista area. There's a lot of families there. We have to look at El Progresso 7 Miles. Anybody who live along the low lying areas, we ask that they heed to these type of waters and take precaution as those people did last night in Unitedville."
Jules Vasquez
Going into this weekend, the entire...those along waterways in the Cayo District have to be on high alert.
Al Westby
"Oh, definitely, Jules. We have what we call our river monitors in all these areas."
Jules Vasquez
"What happens when dams start to spill over."
Al Westby
"Don't want to panic anybody, Jules. When we talk about the dam spilling, or is on the rise. It's not to panic. There's many times that the dams are spilling and there's not much flow of water within our area, so I don't want the public to panic due to, they hear, that the dam is rising. At any given point we'll be here to let everybody know when there's a danger point in these kind of situations."
Jules Vasquez
"So, the best advice right now, be vigilant."
Al Westby
"Be vigilant, listen to NEMO, don't listen to rumors."
No official NEMO advisory has been sent yet.
But Belmopan police have issued a warning for drivers. They say that the hills above the S curve in Teakettle village, have eroded significantly.
They warn that great care must be taken when driving around the curve.
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