BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 27, 2021– While the Cabinet, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), the Meteorological Service of Belize and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing have all been working on a plan of action to ensure preparedness at a national level for the looming hurricane season, the Belize City Council has also been working on a plan of action that will ensure a coordinated response to any intense storms that impact the city.

During a virtual public meeting held on May 20, 2021 at City Hall, Mayor Bernard Wagner, along with City Emergency Management Organization (CEMO) Liaison Officer, Melony Dawson outlined the strategies they have developed for this year’s hurricane season. Their preparations have included hosting numerous collaborative meetings with agencies such as NEMO and the Belize Red Cross to align their preparedness plans with these agencies. Other proactive measures taken by the council include a revision of their hurricane plan, the initiation of their book, canned food and toy drives, and partnerships with UNICEF and other agencies to ensure that their staff has been trained in emergency operations.

By means of the Belize City Council’s numerous education campaigns, the public has also been made aware that dredging of all city- wide canals was completed during the council’s previous term, from 2018 to 2021. Works have also been done to address flooding in low-lying areas of the city.

When asked about the progress of the flood mitigation program’s second phase, and the council’s collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Mayor Wagner stated, “The flood mitigation program or Climate Vulnerability Reduction Program is a program that commenced under the previous administration. It includes three components: the climate risk reduction in tourism sector component, the governance for disaster risk management, and the third component is the project administration. For Belize City, what that means is, it required that we look at the flood prone areas in the city, and the key areas identified were Orange Street, King and Dean Street. Those areas would always accumulate water, and that’s why you saw that they did the drains over and linked them with the West Collet Canal and East Collet Canal…This is a Ministry of Works Program, but it has been done in conjunction with the city.”

The Mayor further explained, “Where the Council is concerned, we have been digging canals since 2018 which hadn’t been dug for twenty plus years. We’ve had our internal team working, but we also had help from the external youths in the city who we have engaged since February of this year, and they were working with us to shape the canals, remove the silt and deepen the drains and helped with connectivity. That is all a part of our
contribution to flood mitigation in the city. I also spoke to the Prime Minister last week, and he is aware of the flooding situation in Belama Phase 4, and he, along with the Ministry of Works, are looking to dredge the Haulover Bridge creek so that the water flows out into the sea. And they are also looking at the dredging of the mouth of the Belize River through the
Port of Belize.”