Even while Belize was still surveying the damage caused by the catastrophic Hurricane Dean in the north of the country, the alarm was sounded that the entire country should be on its guard due to the threat of another major hurricane—the second hurricane formed for this year’s Atlantic Season and the second to develop into a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean in two weeks.
It was indeed an unusual turn of events with Felix aiming for the Belize City region only days after the City had been inundated by record rainfall of over 10 inches in one day.
Hurricane Felix—which caused tens of thousands to flee the northern Central American coast and offshore islands—formed from tropical depression #6, which emerged east of the Caribbean islands on Friday, August 31. By Sunday, it had quickly strengthened to become a very dangerous Category 5 storm, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Initial projections placed Belize right in Felix’s path. However, between Monday and Tuesday the forecast track of Felix was constantly adjusted, and the line of potential landfall shifted further and further south of the original projection, until Belize was completely removed from the cone of danger.
The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday morning when the “all clear” was given and the state of emergency declared the day before was lifted, indicating that Felix would not make landfall in Belize. A tropical storm watch remained in effect for the southern Stann Creek District and for Toledo, even though Felix did not produce the expected rains over southern Belize.
Meanwhile, concerns grew for our neighbors in Honduras and Nicaragua, who were then facing the full brunt of the deadly hurricane, which made landfall Tuesday near Punta Gorda, Nicaragua, with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour.
Tuesday was an unusual day in the weather world as it was the first time in 15 years that two hurricanes made landfall within a 24-hour period, the US-based Weather Channel reported. In the Pacific, Hurricane Henriette struck Mexico’s Baja California coast at Los Cabos with deadly force, also causing death and destruction in that part of the region.
Latest media reports indicate that the death toll in Nicaragua due to Hurricane Felix has risen to 38 and in Honduras at least 2 deaths have been blamed on the storm. About 200 people were reported missing and thousands have been left homeless.
Belize felt only the lesser effects of Hurricane Felix, with feeder bands from the hurricane causing rains and gusts mostly in the central part of the country, in the Belize and Cayo Districts. Reports out of Ontario Village indicate that strong gusts left a few homes roofless, but the very minimal damage caused here cannot compare to the trail of massive destruction Felix left behind in Nicaragua and Honduras.
Particularly on the Miskito coast, entire villages were cut off when roads were damaged, roofs were torn off, homes were demolished, trees brought to the ground, and streets inundated by torrential rains. At Puerto Cabezas, about 10 miles from where Felix made landfall in Nicaragua, roughly 90% of homes lost their roofs, according to international press reports. No damage assessment has yet been reported from that part of Central America, but relief efforts began almost immediately with the Government of Nicaragua airlifting supplies to people on the affected coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida issued its last advisory on Felix on Wednesday afternoon, as the tropical depression—with winds down to 30 miles per hour—continued to weaken over Honduras, where it was still unleashing heavy rains.
Belize was spared when Felix made a consistent track westward rather than its forecasted northwestern track, which would have brought it onshore to Belize.
The hurricane threat forced the closure of schools on Monday, and primary schools that were to reopen on September 3 won’t be reopened, with the exception of a few, until September 11. Most secondary and tertiary level schools reopened Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, most businesses that had closed on Tuesday resumed business by early Wednesday afternoon.
All across Belize, citizens have been trying to return to a state of normalcy after the threat of Felix, while still fearing that by the time this year’s hurricane season is over on November 30, we may face yet another threat and have to repeat hurricane preparations yet another time.
Many have publicly expressed their thanks that God has spared us from Felix’s fury, as we were spared from the worst of Hurricane Dean just over two weeks ago.
Felix is only the second named storm for the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which began on June 1.