Flooded San Antonio Village Relies on Boats for Access Amid Rio Hondo Rise

Flood conditions in San Antonio Village, Orange Walk have gotten so bad that residents now need the help of boats to get in and out of the area. The Rio Hondo River has been experiencing flooding since Tropical Storm Nadine hit on October 19, and recent rains have worsened the situation. Since Monday, the Belize Defence Force has been assisting residents in communities along the Rio Hondo to out in the morning and return in the evening. Today, BDF Chief of Staff Major Roberta Usher, spoke on the continued efforts to assist the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and affected residents. 

Major Roberta Usher, Chief of Staff, Belize Defence Force: “We are supporting NEMO’s efforts. The water has not gotten to a level where their personal low lying vehicles can cross, it has actually raised and we resorted now to assisting using our boats from the Special Boat Unit which are made for this type of water and so assisting the same efforts where we can in the Hinos we are operating there and where the water is higher we have now resorted to using our small crafts to escorting the people in and out. It depends on location where we have the assets we utilize what we have there. If we have to move them from another location then we plan accordingly and get them to where they need to be. Thankfully we did have boats, small boats in the area and those are being utilized currently. Those were there for another operation and we just go back and forth between the two.”

The National Hydrological Service says that the rain from a tropical wave currently over the country will further complicate the flooding situation. Principal Hydrologist Tennille Hendy says that communities further down the Rio Hondo are at risk of seeing flooding similar to San Antonio.

Tennille Hendy, Principal Hydrologist, NHS: “What we’re seeing is a gradual movement of the floodwaters coming downstream. So Blue Creek North, which is our uppermost station, that station was recording 7.93 meters yesterday. This morning, it’s recording 6.98. And so we’re seeing that station, the floodwaters have now moved its way down, the levels are decreasing. San Antonio had about seven centimeters increase between yesterday morning and yesterday evening. However, this morning we’re seeing that increase has become a little bit more gradual. So we only have four centimeters between 6 p.m. yesterday evening and 6 a.m. this morning. Similar to the other stations which is San Roman, Santa Cruz and Douglas, those stations are also seeing an increase in their flood levels or their river levels because the floodwaters are making or is making its way down the stream until it eventually empties the Caribbean Sea. We are getting additional rainfall. It will have an impact on the movement of the floodwaters as well as the height of the water in these different municipalities. So we can see an increase in the height, as we’ve seen in San Antonio where I believe it’s about 30 inches from the surface of the road pavement to where it is now, where they have graduated to using skiffs and canoes to move persons from the village into and access to get to Orange Walk Town. So we can see the same potentiality in the other municipalities along the Rio Hondo. As the flood waters move downstream and with additional rainfall, we can also look out or expect to have a longer residence time of our area being flooded.”

NEMO’s National Emergency Coordinator Daniel Mendez told our newsroom that he is in Orange Walk conducting site visits.