Belize dodges a bullet with Hurricane Dean, but a week ago everyone was bracing themselves for the worst. On Monday, August 20th, the International Airport was packed with close to 1000 tourists who cut their vacation short trying to leave the country. Hurricane Dean was set to hit land the next morning just north of the Mexico-Belize border – a category 5 hurricane with winds upward of 150 miles per hour.
Sarah Sullivan, Tourist from Virginia “We had a Delta flight prescheduled to leave today at twelve thirty-five, and we checked in earlier this morning with Delta and it wasn’t cancelled, and then about an hour later, nine o’ clock, we found out it was cancelled. So we went ahead and came to the airport and they’re trying to get us on another flight, but that flight leaves at eleven fifty and we’re on standby, so we don’t think we’re gonna make that flight.”
Many passengers were on stand-by hoping to get on a flight. Some flights were delayed while American Airlines put in extra unscheduled flights to help move people out of Dean’s way. In the rest of Belize people from the northern islands of San Pedro and Caye Caulker, the one’s expecting the most damage, were evacuated.
Dorla Bernard, Caye Caulker resident “We are not taking any chances. We learned the last time from Keith. We got trapped out there so we all had to stay and shelter the weather. So we don’t want that to catch us again. What’s the mood of the people on the island? Well everybody is in a panic right now. Everybody is running, everybody is trying to get off the island. That’s what’s happening right now.”
With everyone expecting the worst, they faced the wrath of Dean with extreme caution, taking no chances. The National Emergency Management Organization, mobilized all its resources to keep everyone safe. After a very long day, the sun set and night blanketed the country. Belize didn’t get much sleep that night as they braced themselves for the storm. Their fear and caution was well warranted as Belize has a long history with hurricanes.
In 1955 Hurricane Janet made land fall just north of the Mexico-Belize border (just like Dean) packing winds of 135 miles per hour. The devastating winds and massive flooding caused severe damage in Corozal and San Pedro. Hurricane Hattie made a direct hit on Belize in 1961 with winds of 115 miles per hour and gusts estimated at 200 miles per hour. The effects were catastrophic with over 300 deaths in Belize City alone. It was this hurricane which prompted the relocation of the capital from coastal Belize City inland to Belmopan. Other big hurricanes which have hit the country are Mitch (1998) and Keith (2000). Of course nobody can forget the 2005 Hurricane Season – the worst hurricane season ever! While Belize was spared, many of our close neighbors in the Caribbean and Central America were badly hit. And it was with this long history of hurricanes in mind that Belize stood awake waiting for Dean to knock on their doors.
Despite the big anticipation, Dean never banged on our doors. The sun rose on Tuesday August 21st and as Belizeans looked out their windows they were surprised to see most of their streets intact. The Corozal and Orange Walk Districts, along with San Pedro, did suffer some selective damage, but there was no loss of life and those affected communities should bounce back quickly.
Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Met. Officer “South of the eye where it made landfall, that is the Chetumal area and the Corozal town area and adjacent villages of the Corozal district, definitely they experienced some very high winds, probably with gusts in excess of ninety knots in some cases… The damage in the Belize City area was not that significant and also as you can recall, we were expecting quite a lot of rain associated with this system also and that did not really materialize totally, even though we got some torrential downpour.”
There were 2 main reasons why Hurricane Dean, despite its strength had such a small effect on Belize. First, the system was moving quite quickly, so instead of staying over one area with sustained winds and rain, it passed quickly. Second, Belize only received the tailwinds of the storm. Since hurricanes spin counterclockwise, Mexico received the strong headwinds, while Belize received the weaker tailwinds.
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, the centerpiece of Belize’s tourism industry was bracing itself for serious damage, being all the way north of the country. However, most beachfront hotels and homes were unscathed. There were some coconut trees and piers which were knocked down, but considering what could have happened, the island made it out quite well.
Tracy Panton , Director of Tourism "We are grateful that Belize was relatively unscathed by Hurricane Dean. With no major damages, most of the country’s hotels and attractions are welcoming guests merely one day after the hurricane passed."
And so, Hurricane Dean has passed onto Belize’s hurricane history books as a dodged bullet. As homes and businesses cleaned up the debris during the rest of the week Belize quickly sprung back to normality. Considering that the country was bracing itself to be brought to its knees, in the aftermath most Belizeans have let out a big sigh of relief.
