Families Wake Up to Flooded Homes on Hummingbird Highway

Several families in a residential community on the Hummingbird Highway woke up to find their homes underwater this morning.  The recent incessant rains and incoming water flows are being factored as the culprits.  We join our correspondent LJay Wade for that story.

Ljay Wade, Cayo Correspondent: “Four families from the Mountain Valley community in the Stann Creek district had to be rescued from their homes following heavy rainfall in the area. The rainfall began affecting central and southern Belize around 2am today and by seven o’clock residents of the Mountain Valley community found that rising floodwaters were rapidly inundating their homes, forcing them to leap into action in an effort to save their belongings and livestock.”

Community Member: “Well, I noticed in the night it was raining a lot and thundering. And then at quarter to five or something my neighbor’s son was at my house and he talked to me about the flood is coming near to my house. So when I got up and I said, “Man, the water was already in my shed.” So I quick take out some things that I had in the shed to rescue it to the house so It wouldn’t get wet and then I noticed my calves were in the water, deep water already. So I had to bring out the calves in a higher place. And then well I woke up my other sons and my daughters and they quick all came and help rescue some things there.”

Ljay Wade, Cayo Correspondent: Did any of your animals perish?

Community Member: “Not that we know but most of them, my cattle, they are way back close to the river where it’s higher. So I hope they’re all still there. Well, when the river goes down more I will go and check and hope I can bring them back, I mean, to my house. But I don’t know yet. I will have to go and check it later. I had to put my pigs in my new house on the veranda because they couldn’t survive in the water and rescue some of my belongings from my shed because the whole shed is just, most of the stuff is, some stuff is still there. We tie some of the things, the buggies but a lot of stuff there, we have to go and look for it maybe we still find it  scattered around.”

Ljay Wade, Cayo Correspondent: But the horrors didn’t stop there. Due to the heavy rainfall, one of the main community roads was under as much as 10 feet of water, trapping four families on the other side of the newly formed river. The community, alongside the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO, quickly pooled their resources to rescue the stranded families. 

Community Member: “I think they rescued them with boats to take them out to a higher place. Yes, the police came here two times already. The Chinese close to he brought a motorboat to rescue people.”

Community Member: “There’s four families out here that were stranded and some were taken out and others just stayed up in the higher part of their house. And then on the other end is almost the same thing another four families that were stranded and had to find their way. And some of them were helped to get to higher grounds and others just went in their house and stayed until they see it was going down.”

Ljay Wade, Cayo Correspondent: The Mountain Valley community is just one of a number of areas throughout the country that experience flash flooding. The National Emergency Coordinator for NEMO, Daniel Mendes, says that NEMO is on high alert and is currently monitoring the situation and will be ready to activate if necessary.

Daniel Mendez, National Coordinator, NEMO: “Our teams across the country have been on alert. We have been monitoring along with the MET service and the hydrology service the passage of the rainfall. So what we have been noticing is there have been a few incidents in the Stann Creek District. Our Stann Creek coordinators have been out there  addressing and assisting in that regard. There is always a potential for further activation of the system but at this point there has not been the need but we will keep on monitoring and as the information comes in, the rest of the country remains on alert. So all of our offices across the country are aware and have been making communication with the different components of the system. So if there is a need for us to activate the system, it will be done so quickly.”

Ljay Wade, Cayo Correspondent: Reporting for Love News, Ljay Wade