This morning at about 3:30 Belize time, category 5 Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua, north of Puerto Cabezas, carrying 160 mile an hour winds. 15 hours later, Hurricane Felix has faded fast. At 6:00 pm, Felix was a tropical storm with winds of 60 miles an hour. It is located near the border of Nicaragua and Honduras. So, Belize was completely spared the immediate wrath of this dangerous storm. But the threat was taken very seriously. Thousands on the islands and in the city, evacuated their homes and headed to higher ground. And, with landfall originally forecasted for Belize, almost all businesses nationwide were shut down.
But while the worst was feared, it never happened, and so, this morning, the state of emergency was lifted and after noon today, the all clear was declared for most of the country. The Toledo and South Stann Creek Districts remain under a tropical storm watch. And while the storm skirted away from Belize, its after effects are another story. The storm is expected to produce heavy rainfall in Honduras, which is expected to influence river levels in Guatemala and Belize.
