And while the south had rains, and the west had floods, Lake I had what residents referred to as a mini tornado! It happened on Sunday evening - a microburst of strong winds and lightning that came out of nowhere. Daniel Ortiz found out more from residents:
Several families in the Lake Independence Area of Belize City experienced extreme distress Saturday evening, heading into the nighttime hours. That's when a freak storm hit their homes hard, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to tear the roofs off their homes.
One wooden house we saw was knocked completely off its stilts, left hovering over the swamp.
Several of the residents described the moment when they realized that the rain suddenly started pouring down on top of them and their vulnerable electrical appliances inside their homes.
Marsha Valencio - Storm Victim
"During the freak storm - my daughter called it a tornado - the quickness of how it happened. She was doing her homework, and concentrating on the laptop that she was on, sitting in the chair. All of a sudden, this heavy breeze and rain caused every thing to fly off the roof. When all of that happened, everything that was inside was blew down. In the safe, the pans blew down, and she got hit in the head by one of the pans. The stove, everything that water poured down on, the chairs - everything is damaged."
Paul Santiago Sr. - Storm Victim
"All that I heard is something trees breaking going to the back. But, the house is sailing away."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, you're seeing the roof coming off?"
Paul Santiago Sr.
"I didn't see it, but I heard the noise, and all I heard was Blam! I said, 'Oh God, what happened?' When I came out from my little step, I said, oh, the top is gone. The top is gone. So, where did it go? I was looking around because it was already getting dark. So I was looking around. Nothing."
"The gentleman all the way to the back there in a big high house, he told me. Mr. Paul, I stood up and watched through my window, and I was watching thing thing floating and coming toward me. But what happened, the internet wire got hooked up between the zinc and the 1-by-4s, and that's what took it that direction."
Voice of: One Of Requena Family Members - Storm Victim
"A lot stuff got destroyed due to the breeze and due to the water pressure. It was a tragic sight when we reached. It was a not a pretty scene. Basically, we tried to pull ourselves through. Thanks to the family. Thanks to some guys from Bowen & Bowen who came through, helped and assisted. The neighbors came, and they tried to assist to ensure that we get a little roof back over our heads. The first night, we were in rain until about 2 o'clock."
"The main thing was that we were trying to put on a covering, like basically a tarp, like you see on the house, so that we can at least manage to finish the rest of the night. Due to the breeze it was not easy. There were about 6 of us on the rooftop trying to put together, and then we had to go and retrieve the zinc that was blown off, but that was scary part. The mini-tornado actually took the entire roof, took the board fixtures, everything to it."
Although the area residents who've experienced this weekend's freak storm describe it as "tornado-like", the Chief Meteorologist reminds us that it is incorrect to think of them as such. They are referred to as microbursts, and they occur in or near intense thunderstorms.
Also, Belizeans have experienced these types of systems before. For example, there was that freak storm that tore through Maskall in October 2014, another which damaged homes in Spanish Lookout in August 2016, and yet other which tore down roofs in Billy White, Cayo in July 2021.
For the Lake I residents who must recover from this one, some are very concerned about the funding to replace all of their household items that were destroyed due to the water damage.
Voice of: One Of Requena Family Members - Storm Victim
"Now we're trying to maneuver to get back materials to try and move forward to get the house together."
Daniel Ortiz
"Did you guys lose any appliances?"
Voice of: One Of Requena Family Members
"Yes, we did. One of the bedrooms is properly damaged. It damaged half of the house."
Marsha Valencio - Storm Victim
"Right now, we are trying to get assistance from the Minister, Cordel Hyde, because he came the night to come check up on us. He came and asked us to go into shelter. He came personally and told us to get an invoice to see what he could help with, but if anybody else out there can assist, we can really appreciate it."
