Sunday, September 16, 2007

Hurricane News

In a 2-week span, Belize endured 2 separate hurricane threats. The first one, Hurricane Dean, resulted in property and agriculture loss to the northern regions of the country. And in the most recent scare, Hurricane Felix, only skirted Belize, but caused major damage in Nicaragua and Honduras. We in Belize are all saddened by the loss of life in these nearby countries.

Having participated in two evacuations now, I have real empathy for the difficulties of moving people out of harm’s way and providing safe havens. While many of the homes in my adopted village are made of concrete blocks, still many more are wooden frames with thatched roofs. Even strong sea breezes play havoc with these shelters. The relentless rains also create problems for coastal villages. In between Dean and Felix, my little village’s main road was flooded for several days, the effects of a strong, steady and long rain over a day and a half.

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