In other news… a weekend of heavy showers forced the Ministry of Education to suspend classes for the Belize and Cayo district today. And for tomorrow, all in person classes across the country for all levels will follow suit.
With floodwaters covering some streets, drains and bridges, NEMO is concerned that a possible flash flood may be imminent. Their new coordinator, Daniel Mendez spoke with us today about the current weather conditions. Jomarie Lanza has this story.
The Heavy rains across the country won't be slowing down anytime soon. That's because the national met service reported on Friday that areas along the coast and over the South would experience excessive rainfall, from November 4th to the 7th, due to areas of low pressure moving inland over Central America. The National Emergency Management Organization has been closely monitoring the system. And today Nemo's Coordinator Daniel Mendez shared more details with us about the current rains we've been experiencing
Daniel Mendez, NEMO Coordinator
"As you note over the weekend there was flood situation that was occurring across the country and this was as a result of a disorganized system that has crossed over the country it was producing excess rainfalls in some parts of the country and it resulted in the government having to declare and issue flood advisories in certain parts of the country, namely the cayo district. And so we have been responding to that over the weekend, we have been keeping an eye on it. And as you can see outside the system still continues to affect us so out of an abundance of caution, the ministry of education and others have also been keeping an eye on it and issuing advisories as necessary in order to keep people safe."
NEMO's flood advisory #2 which was released on Sunday notes that a total of 4-6 inches of rainfall has been reported so far. But according to NEMO's coordinator, some areas may see up to 10 inches of rainfall due to flooding.
Daniel Mendez, NEMO Coordinator
"But there have been some areas that have received up to 10 inches of rain. Of course that has a specific meaning, 10 inches of rain means that some parts of your town or village will be impacted by flood water, so I don't have that exact data but definitely it has been impacting us."
"Over the weekend we were responding to potential flooding in the San Ignacio area. We still maintain a flood watch in that area. We are still monitoring it and we are still managing the passage of that flood water as it goes down stream but there are other areas which we are keeping an eye on and that we are prepared to provide assistance as necessary."
"Well the flood waters depending on the floodplains some go out into the sea, some flood waters do remain in some areas and we will continue to watch it and monitor it and see how best we can support persons who are affected by any remaining flood water."
Residents in the Cayo district, particularly those residing near rivers and flood prone areas, are advised to monitor the rains and have a plan of action in place if the need arises to evacuate. NEMO's Emergency hotline is 936.
