Jayden Roches, Eleanor Ritchie & Mark Ritchie Jr.

The bodies of two persons who remained missing up to yesterday were found over the last 24 hours. The force of the flash floods was too strong for them to survive.

Official reports are that up to 13,000 persons have been affected by the disaster in the Stann Creek and Belize Districts. Some 600 persons are now in shelters.

The combined storm power of TS Alma and Arthur brought down rain all weekend long on Belize and dumped some 15 inches of rainfall causing floods all over the country and severely affecting the northern and southern districts.

  View of Stann Creek flooding (Met Office photo)

The Stann Creek district was the hardest hit. Devastation crept in the wee hours of Monday morning as families slept. Heavy rains fell, flash floods swept through the communities, overturning cars, tearing down homes, leveling orchards, washing away a bridge connecting the communities to the rest of Southern Belize and threatening lives.

  Floods inundate highway and wash away Kendall Bridge (Met Office photo)

The families of the deceased and the residents of the Stann Creek district are in complete distress as they mourn the loss of their loved ones and friends, and today are in despair, with little left except damaged and destroyed homes.

  Residents in awe at Kendall Bridge destruction

As the residents pick up the pieces and try to restore normalcy, several believe that if they had received adequate warning of Tropical Storm Arthur’s force, they would have sought shelter and safety and perhaps their loved ones and friends didn’t have to die.

“If I had been given warning, if it was only an hour before, I could have found some place safer for my son and I,” remarked Philberto Roches, who found the lifeless body of his two year old son Jaydon on Tuesday after an unyielding, almost endless search.

The devastation is perhaps more significant for Mark Ritchie Sr., who lost his children, 14 year old daughter Eleanor, 11 year old son Mark Jr. and wife Shelda in the floods.

“My wife and my fourteen year old daughter Eleanor were inside the house trapped. The roof came down on them. My son, one mile from here we found him,” Ritchie recalled sadly.

The monitoring of Tropical Storms Alma and Arthur had been carried out by the Belize Met Office since late last week. Chief Meteorologist Ramon Frutos had warned in weather forecasts that TS Arthur could pour 10-12 inches of rain on certain parts of the country, and that as a result of similar downpours in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras, some flash flooding could have been expected.

  Flooding in Belize City (Port Loyola area)

Despite this serious warning from the experts at the Met Office the National Emergency Management Organization failed to activate and take required measures to prevent disaster and protect the lives of Belizeans that were suspected of being under threat.

  Northern Highway floods stalls traffic

Only the District Emergency Management Organizations (DEMO) in Corozal and Orange Walk were activated, but those in charge of the southern districts failed the people and forgot the basic rule of unpredictability that best describes natural disasters.

Strong waves rocked boast & capsized 56 fishermen vessels in San Pedro (Ambergris Today photo)

The Minister of NEMO Melvin Hulse came under fire this week for the negligence displayed by his organization in its failure to properly warn and take measures to protect the residents of the Stann Creek District. His response to the criticisms was nonsensical and insensitive.

Minister Hulse’s illogical explanation was that NEMO couldn’t be expected to evacuate people late at night.

“And the thing is that what are we gonna do? Ten o’clock at night we fi seh bwai yoh know we think that this might really cause problem and you go tell people who is on dry land you better evacuate because ih wah do it. Dehn no wah believe yoh so noh fool yoh self. And you have no justification to activate NEMO. So let’s move away from that,” Hulse said grumpily.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow has also been criticised for refusing to announce a national emergency despite the reports of death, serious risk of life and severe flooding. It was not until Tuesday that PM Barrow classified the Stann Creek District and Gales Point, Manatee Village and Sittee River Village of the Belize District disaster areas.

The majority of the flooding victims are also disappointed with NEMO’s response, which did not start until late Monday morning. Tearful callers flooded the morning talk show phone lines pleading for help, as they explained that they were trapped on roof tops while water levels increased steadily.

  TS Arthur blew away roof tops in San Pedro (Ambergris Today photo)

The Opposition People’s United Party has called on Prime Minister Barrow to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the inadequacy and mismanagement of the response to TS Arthur.

“Official warnings to affected persons were insufficient and the response by emergency management officials is lacking,” charged a release from the PUP.

  Flash flooding in Stann Creek slashed the Hummingbird Highway

The PUP said the negligence revealed by the UDP Government and NEMO is “unacceptable” especially since it is at the beginning of a hurricane season that experts have predicted will be above normal. The PUP said the investigation and a report of the results to the nation are expected promptly.