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There are five confirmed storm related deaths in southern Belize and perhaps the most tragic is that of the Ritchie family in the Valley Community. In a matter of minutes, Mark Ritchie senior lost his wife Shelda, his 14 year old daughter Eleanor, and his 11 year old son Mark Jr. They were killed after flood waters swept their home away. Today we caught up with Mark Ritchie Sr., the lone survivor of his family and he gave us a first hand account of the violent flood that killed his family.

Mark Ritchie Sr., Lost Family in Flood
“The river came up very fast. It is a sudden thing, a fast thing and the house started to shake with a lot of breeze and like in seconds the house just popped. And when it popped, the roof just came in on me and my family. And I didn’t feel the house like it was travelling or nothing like that but when I came out of the house, I found out I was somewhere else and the house was far from the area where it was before. I ended up in an orange tree in darkness. That is all I have to say.”

Keith Swift,
Where was your wife and kids?

Mark Ritchie Sr.,
“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.”