Sibun River reaches flood stage, nearing levels recorded during Hurricane Mitch

The Sibun River is currently at the highest level among Belize’s major rivers, with water levels at flood stage and just below the levels recorded during Hurricane Mitch. The Hydrology Unit says the river, particularly at Freetown Sibun, remains a major area of concern as excessive rainfall associated with the passage of a tropical wave continues to affect the country.  Chief Hydrology Officer Tenielle Hendy says the Sibun is among several waterways being closely monitored as flood conditions persist across central, eastern and southern Belize.

Tennille Hendy, Principal Hydrologist: “What we’re seeing is that the Sibun River is still increasing. It’s almost at the historical levels for Mitch way back in 1998. Crooked Tree Lagoon has not seen any significant increase in their levels. It’s below what we call normal and it did not approach a causeway at all up to this point. What we are seeing on a related system is the Sibun River. The Belize River and the Sibun River up as complementary systems. To explain that if the Belize River is flooded, it discharges some of its water into the Sibun River through hydraulic processes. We did have two systems that had flood stage which was Kendal and San Pedro Colombia. We also had in a very, very Deep South we had Criquesarco on the Temash River. So that’s more or less the overview of the flooding situation of the areas in each region that are flooding. The regions in the Belize River area that was affected by the excessive rainfall values the floodwaters are making their way down the stream and eventually out to the coast. We’re seeing increasing river levels at the end, almost at the end of the system.”

A flood warning remains in effect for the western, central and southern portions of the country, particularly areas along the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains. A flood alert is also in effect for Region Seven in northern Belize.  Other rivers at flood stage include the Belize River at More Tomorrow and Double Run, as well as the Sittee River. The Crooked Tree Lagoon is approaching flood stage, while the Temash River is decreasing but remains above normal levels.  Forecasters warn that additional rainfall could maintain flood conditions over the next one to two days and that flooding can develop quickly with little warning. Hendy says the outlook will depend heavily on rainfall in the coming days and the amount of water continuing to move through the country’s river systems.

Tennille Hendy, Principal Hydrologist:  “Right now we don’t have that situation in the north but with the projections that we receive from the Met Service, there is to be periods of rain and isolated thunderstorms that would be concentrated over the northern and central areas, but we should see a decrease towards later this evening. So the next areas that we need to watch would be the northern areas. Belize City I don’t think they are going to be that impacted based on previous events that have occurred. As I explained before, the floodwaters are discharged and held within systems such as Crooked Tree Lagoon. You have several other lagoons that would also retain the water. You have Cox Lagoon that’s somewhere behind Hattieville area. You have Mulhaney Creek, you have Muscle Creek, so all of these areas, they tend to retain the water and then gradually release them. So you won’t have that large flood effect going into Belize City, but I would say it’s a bit too early to say that they would be severely impacted by it. Maybe you might see some gradual increase in the water levels but most of the waters, like I said, they are trapped within these, these are natural retention systems, and then they gradually release them into the main course, the main river course.”

Residents in flood-prone communities are being advised to closely monitor weather and river conditions and to exercise caution, particularly near waterways and low-lying areas.