At mid-day Prime Minister Said Musa pronounced the all clear for Central and Northern Belize. But getting back to normal is easier said than done for a city form which, thousands of residents - fearing Felix's fury - had fled yesterday. That's why for most of the morning, the city was a ghost town and we tried to find out why.
Keith Swift Reporting,
At mid-day the all clear was declared for Belize. In other words, Belize is no longer under a threat from Hurricane Felix. But you wouldn't know that if you came to downtown Belize City. Here on Albert Street most of the stores and banks are still closed and there are few people on the street. Major supermarkets such as Brodies kept their shutters down and so did Atlantic Bank as well as Hofius. Indeed it didn't look like a regular Tuesday afternoon in the city. Mayor Zenaida Moya is the head of CEMO - the City Emergency Management Organization.
Zenaida Moya, Director - CEMO
"We will be clearing out our shelters. We do understand that Belize City will be experiencing or it is predicted that we will be experiencing some rains but we believe the rains will be manageable enough for residents to be able to handle. We at CEMO will also be ensuring that we do our part to assist those families who are at the shelters, those who feel that they need to remain at the shelters. We will be working with them to ensure that they can stay there at least for the time being."
Yesterday thousands of residents fled the city by bus. Today they began to trickle back at the main bus terminal on West Collet Canal. One man who didn't leave the city is 70-year-old Arthur Castillo.
Arthur Castillo, Didn't Evacuate
"I heard about hurricane again but I went inside and I said I would wait on the latest noise to hear if the weather is going and if it continues then I would leave."
But it never came and while thousands of Belizeans from the cayes and the city and planning their trip home - Arthur Castillo is already home.
