And while waves were crashing unto the shore in San Pedro this morning, when our affiliates from the Northern Cable Network went into Corozal they found the opposite, the sea was washing away. Here's the report as compiled by Keith Swift.
Today gloomy clouds hung over an eerily quiet Corozal Bay - making it hard to imagine that beyond those clouds the massive Wilma churned in the atmosphere just 169 miles away. The sea had receded from the shoreline, likely the product of strong westerly winds in Wilma's outer bands. With the tide receding, fishermen scrambled to get their boats to higher, drier ground.
As coconut palms bobbed like puppets strung to the morning gusts, Wilma's footprint were these: dead fish. Both big and small they were everywhere: in the water,
on the sea grass, and on shore. Harry Heredia from Corozal's Public Health Department says they don't know yet what caused the fish kill.
Harry Heredia,
"We don't have any cause of this incident. The only thing we could do right now is advise the public not to consume these fishes because we don't have as yet any cause of death for these fishes. It could be various causes so to prevent any health risks, any outbreak of any diseases, its better not to consume these fishes."
Ervin Rancharan is a member of Corozal's Emergency Committee and he says they are cautiously alert.
Ervin Rancharan,
"Right now, as we like to say, we are dashing all precautions to the wind. We are just right here and the hurricane is something that will give us a little warning, it won't come like a thief in the night. So we are out here and if it makes its move, we are going to make our move too. But the hurricane itself is not coming directly to us so that's the message we'll like to get out there to our people: that they don't need to panic, just be in a state of preparation so that they are not caught off guard."
Rancharan says schools and just about everywhere in Corozal remained opened despite the danger which lurked beyond those clouds.
At newstime, residents in San Pedro and Corozal reported that gusts of high winds continued. This evening NEMO issued an advisory that those driving on the Northern Highway in the Corozal District should be aware of powerful gusts sweeping across the highway that could destabilize light trucks and cars.
