During the previous two-term PUP administration there were several hurricanes that threatened or made landfall at various parts of the country and their priority was to save lives. Belizeans felt that reassurance. In fact, in 1998 the PUP was barely in office for three months when the threat of “MITCH” came to our shores. The professional and capable disaster management of the PUP demonstrated competence and spared no effort or means to evacuate entire villages and towns in an orderly fashion. The National Emergency Management Organization “NEMO” under the PUP always demonstrated constant preparedness and readiness to tackle any worse case scenario.

We did not see that high quality of operation ability in the wake of Tropical Storm Arthur. NEMO was more reactive and even their response to the aftermath lacked professionalism and competence.

As much as we would like to believe that nobody could have anticipated the severity of this storm, NEMO should have. This storm spelt trouble ever since it was Alma as it shifted from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. It poured water on Guatemala and Honduras and it could have only expected that the water would have affected Belize. The met office predicted that Tropical Storm Arthur would bring up to ten inches of rain and flash floods, yet NEMO still didn’t find it important to activate and prevent the loss of lives.

NEMO’s response to the threat Tropic Storm Arthur posed on Belize is completely unacceptable. Government’s reaction only kicked off, a day after the storm had struck with the usual political theatrics when PM Barrow held his press conference at NEMO HQ in Belmopan.

It is outrageous that the UDP Government decided to respond until after Tropical Storm Arthur moved over the country. By that time lives were lost and thousands were in imminent danger.

While the damages to infrastructure and the productive sector is huge and will only be known after an assessment is done, the unfortunate and unnecessary loss of human life is so significant that we can’t put a value to it.