And while for most Belizeans Nana seemed like more of a passover than a storm, that wasn't the case in Hopkins. Residents there were directly in the path of the storm's category one winds and experienced real damage to property. Cherisse Halsall headed down south this morning to get a first-hand look at the aftermath of hurricane Nana.
She starts with N.E.M.O's assessment of the storm's track through Belize.
Nana Made landfall at midnight just a few miles South of Hopkins in the Stann Creek District, about 13 miles South-Southwest of Dangriga Town with maximum sustained winds of 75mph. This is considered a weak category 1 hurricane. The storm was moving at 15 miles per hour through the Stann creek and Toledo districts - it left Belizean territory between 5:00 and 6:00 am. Initial reports suggest that Stann Creek District is more affected than Toledo. Buildings, crops and infrastructure received varying degrees of damage. The priority for assessments is humanitarian needs.
And for villagers like Adelma Salam and her husband who'd already had their lives upended by the collapse of tourism, Nana was a final blow.
Adelma Salam
"We couldn't do anything we just tried to pack some of our clothes mostly, got things in bags and leave it there, more or less we expected this but we never experienced it we just put things together. We evacuated. We didn't stay so when I came this morning this is what I saw, I feel very sad. I almost cried but I said I can't do nothing."
Cherisse Halsall
"How strong do you think the winds must have been to do this?"
Adelma Salam
"I guess maybe it must have been very strong because I went to shelter, we didn't feel much there so well I think here the wind was really strong. It will be very difficult because right now I am not working, I got affected by the tourism. We are here because me and common law is working here with the tourism industry. It is very difficult to start all over because I am not working right now. My father in law is giving me a house to shelter for the meantime because I don't have a house to call a home. I'm staying here, I moved here to have kids we're working here me and my common law husband, that's why we moved here. I've been staying here for 6 years so, I had to move our for the mean time even though I'm used to Hopkins, I don't know if I'm going to come back or not."
Adelma's neighbour Danesha Martinez also evacuated but she says there was no shelter from the howling sounds of the cyclones that descended on the village.
Danesha Martinez - Hopkins resident
"They were just like swirling around hard breeze swirling so strong, I thought I was worried about the house around me if it was going to blow off anything because of the strength of that wind, the breeze was so strong. I was at a shelter but I could hear the sound of the wind and we were looking outside of the windows and we saw trees coming down, we saw the coconut tree moving around, even the shoreline the waves were washed a little bit closer than normal, the waves were big. So it was not a good experience, we saw the waves and the breeze, hmph."
And elsewhere in the village one house kept its roof, but once the storm had passed it fell of its supports.
Cleopatra Ramos - Home-Owner
"I bought this house and they didn't really dig the posts into the ground so it was just like set, that's why I don't trust it so anyway we went back to sleep at my aunty. This morning now, he jacked it up, he jacked it up all the posts everything and I said okay I guess we're safe. So I went in there to have my coffee, my daughter and my grandson we're sleeping in this same room and my son, my oldest son came into the house and went to the bathroom and then he said ma, this house the lean you know. I know it was leaning but Walter done fix it and he said okay, so he went to bathroom, come back, slam the door and that's when it gone right down. I was frightened, I was trembling. So my common law came in and asked if we're alright and the whole the neighbourhood was done here watching everything, so I was embarrassed too. Right now, nobody the work, I hardly the work, I no have no income, my common law just the hustle, so I don't know."
Area rep Rodwell Ferguson was on the ground this morning greeting and sympathizing with those who bore the burnt of the storm but he told us that he's trying to do much more.
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson - SC West Area Rep
"The damage is very minimal and we are fortunate because when we were listening to the radio we thought that the storm would have cause more damage and had more of an effect on the area but when we do our assessment it is very very minimal. These are very poor people and I think the rest of Belize should appeal to the rest of Belize that everybody contribute something small, these people can get up and running very quickly but because of the pandemic, some of them are not even working, so they cannot even put back the pieces together. So, I'm appealing to the country to please support Silk Grass, Hopkins, Sittee River, Maya Centre who I think got the most affect because we understand the hurricane came in and made landfall around Sanctuary Bay, that is not far away from here. So I really need the support for these people."
The southside resort of Hamanasi wasn't completely spared with much of their staff's morning taken up clearing debris and fixing minor structural damage.
And while there were some major losses it wasn't all devastation because some residents sustained minor damages.
By the time we caught up with these young men they'd almost finished their repairs
Elmer Coleman - Resident
"This is where I'm staying so this morning when I came I saw trees like that and the zincs some of the zincs were on the ground so I tried to put it up back."
Cherisse Halsall
"How difficult is it going to be to fix this?
Elmer Coleman
"Not bad. We are almost there I don't know about building but I'm trying my best."
Shemar Coleman
"We had to look for materials first of all and we just got a little material so, that is how we get together, get the material and come deal with."
And This group of neighbours was hard at work this morning re-doing one restaurant owner's roof but their attitudes were pretty positive.
Kirk Carr - Resident
"My experience last night was kind of a bit trippyish because I was on the beach and the breeze was blowing real crazy and the waves were kinda hard but other than that we managed to go nice and easy we ended up walking out at about 12 to see how the village stood and everybody was kinda ok just a couple trees fell down but other than that everybody was kinda straight. Right now I just di help this lady yah fix up she roof this morning. Looks like that little breeze shook it up a little bit and just knocked off two zinc, three zincs off of it. Lee bit of work minor work small thing, we'll be done right now."
If you'd like to assist Adelma Salam or Cleopatra Ramos they can be reached at 660-87220 and 636-8192 respectively.
