There's A Hurricane Coming! Get To High Ground and BYOB!

Damage Done by Hurricane Mitch

Ok girls, I found this account about hurricanes from an American who lives in Belize - they have hurricane parties down there!

Facts about hurricanes in Belize

Starting June 1, the "Hurricane Season" opens, and the Government starts educating everyone on "What To Do In the Event of a Hurricane." The newspapers give this a lot of publicity, because it helps fill space! Belizeans start thinking about Hurricanes. Unfortunately, so do Tourists.
In Reality, Belize is not Hurricane Central. That honor belongs to North Carolina, in the US. Closely following NC are Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, none of which advertise their hurricanes.

Most Hurricanes don't come anywhere close to Belize. Atlantic Hurricanes generally originate off the coast of Africa, at about the same latitude as Belize. They track west for a while, and then head off northwest toward North Carolina! (see the storm archives of the National Hurricane Center.)

Some Hurricanes do devastate Belize. Hattie destroyed Belize City in 1961 -- 40 years ago. Janet devastated Corozal in 1955 -- 45 years ago. Pretty ancient history, I thought. However, after a forty year break, many hurricanes have threatened Belize and some have damaged us. Of course, the Cayes are more susceptible to hurricane damage than the mainland, just as the Florida keys are more hazardous places to live than Miami Beach.

Reality: Hurricanes are News. The Weather Channel loves hurricanes; the pictures of people wading through water and fighting a gale are a lot more interesting than charts of isobars. They report that "a slow moving hurricane produces torrential rains." In reality, most tropical rains are torrential compared with rain in the U. S. In the flats of Belize, these torrential rains have less effect than they had on the muddy hills of Honduras. Mitch dropped 35" of rain a day on Honduras for 3 days. This phenomenal rainfall devastated the country, as it would any place on earth. But most hurricanes create far less rain than this.

Reality: Hurricanes are Exciting. Just like any medium-sized city in the US, there's not a lot of news in Belize, so the papers start talking about the hurricane season as soon as it starts in June. The government is quick to issue a storm warning, and the people are quick to react. They go off to neighbors or shelters that are on higher ground. The government closes down the liquor stores, but people have already stocked up. Belizeans are quick to celebrate, and this is as good an excuse as any. Having a Hurricane Party - you should plan the hurricane season carefully. Many stores are closed, with the owners nailing up plywood over their windows.

Most importantly, you may want to stock up with Rum and beer BEFORE the warning is issued. After the warning is issued, it is against the law for stores to sell alcoholic beverages. (A local explained "The young men drink and turn into looters.")

Hurricanes are exciting, and if there is some damage, Belize might be able to get some relief dollars, which we can always use. (Can't anybody?) On the other hand, if we don't play down the damage, we won't have any tourists at all. As a result, you will hear a lot of conflicting press reports.

2005 was the worst hurricane season in history, caused by warm seas. (The Caribbean got as hot as 86 degrees) However, all of the hurricanes passed us by, with only hurricane parties and some "torrential rains" to mark their passing.

Another resident writes:

Our reef saves us from utter devastation in big storms and, unlike practically any artificial arrangement, it isn't going to be undercut and washed away. Most of the wave force slams into it and goes straight up in the air. Sixty feet or more sometimes. Quite a sight. But if the tides are high, the tops of the waves come over -- the reef is invisible, submerged, and, wind-driven in the shallow pan of the lagoon, waves give the windward shoreline a considerable pounding. The result is adios to the piers and anything built on them and damage to construction on the beachfront. Mitch never got closer than about 200 miles away, but was such a monster it generated waves that did that much. Hattie, a long time ago, passing virtually over San Pedro, put water over the surface of the island in most places, with waves on top. Still, there were no Hattie deaths in San Pedro, as far as I know. Most of the people rode it out: warning was not that early, and evacuation would have been mostly by sailboat. No, thanks.

But, then, we rarely have forest fires or earthquakes and other California delights. Our rare tornadoes are waterspouts, which have a curious custom of lifting up and hopping over land -- why, I don't know, but it's quite reliable, I've seen it. So if you come to Belize, afloat or ashore, you're probably taking a step up in overall safety. Besides, in contrast to forest fires and earthquakes, the approach or aftermath of a storm brings world class fishing! Trophies off the dock, if the dock's still there!