Belize took another beating from torrential rains last night and that’s why tonight all eyes are on the west where rising waters are forcing people out of their homes and creating a panic along the Macal and Mopan Rivers. The Iguana Creek Bridge at Spanish Lookout is under 6 feet of water and the National Emergency Management Organization is closely monitoring the levels under the Roaring Creek Bridge. But the biggest news was in San Ignacio where the Macal River swallowed the town’s market square – disrupting traffic and commerce. Our 7NEWS team went west today and here’s their report.
Keith Swift Reporting,
We drove through torrential rain to Cayo and when we got there, we found the wooden bridge under 12 feet of water and the heart of San Ignacio inundated. I am standing in San Ignacio’s market square. This used to be the street
and now it is just one big lake as booths and stalls have been inundated by the rising flood waters.
Keith Swift,
How high do you suspect the water is?
Peter Jones, San Ignacio Resident
“Right now? Over by the lamppost I would say maybe 12 feet. We live on top of the hill and the water goes over into the sand area and so the people affected are mainly the business people."
Peter Jones took us on a ride around San Ignacio’s market square in the only way that was possible today – his canoe. The images speak for themselves. One of the stalls under water is Jose Arzu’s butcher shop.
Jose Arzu, His Stall Under Water
“Well the situation with my stall is that it is under water and I’ve been here from about five this morning and we evacuated. The water was already
on the floor level so I did evacuation with the help of people that contributed and hopefully, I am just praying that the building remains there because it is in very bad shape at the moment and the water is still rising so I am just crossing my fingers and praying to God that it remains as it is or goes down.”
Keith Swift,
You look very worried.
Jose Arzu,
“I am pretty worried because this is my every day business and today was a Friday and tomorrow is Saturday, a business day but we cannot go beyond that. We got to be cool.”
And the business outlook isn’t promising. Hart Gillett who is monitoring the water level for NEMO says it is rising 4 inches an hour.
Hart Gillett, NEMO Volunteer
“It is giving us four inches an hour, it is like 4 inches at this
time. It is not a lot given the circumstances and what we’ve witnessed before within the community itself; that’s very very slow.
The water takes eight hours to travel. This water you’re seeing here is from eight o’clock this morning. It takes about eight hours to get down to town. So the next check will be at seven o’clock and then we’ll know exactly if this water will keep rising, at what rate, other than just periodical rise. So it is an eight hours interval, I am saying by seven o’clock we should know if it is going to be more risky for the people or if it is going to be less.”
Jose Arzu,
“We’ve had thirteen years where we haven’t seen something like this. But we never know, we could expect sometimes worst because this is nature and we cannot go beyond that but we are trying to monitor here and hope it remains as how it is or go down. We hope for better for the whole community of San Ignacio.”
BECOL sent out a release today stating that the dam has reduced the impact of the floods on San Ignacio and Cristo Rey by 50%. The release notes that there is a narrow spillway and that has slowed down the water flow. There is however some bad news and that is that the Chalillo facility has reached its full supply level and water is overflowing by as much as three and a half meters. BECOL anticipates that with more rains there will be more spill-overs and that will mean more water coming down. They warn residents to take the necessary precautions.
