7 News Belize

Flood Update
posted (July 27, 2010)
A day after an unexpected weather system left the old capital under a sea of water; Belize City Council says it has mobilized its key personnel to conduct a post mortem on the effects of the flooding. Jim McFadzean spoke with the Deputy Mayor, Phillip Willoughby and the city engineer to find out how extensive the damage is.

Phillip Willoughby, Acting Mayor
"I know right off it would cost the city some huge finances in terms of rehabilitating these streets and the street infrastructure on a whole. So upon receiving this report we would know where we are and how we move forward whether we will do incur the work and do it our self or we would venture to say to outsource it and get it done very quickly and bring back the city to a state of normalcy. With regards with the sanitation companies and the garbage situation on the streets, we have noted that whilst the contractors have been operating within the scope of their contract it seems as though the water has brought another abnormal sequence of events with garbage, trees, debris and so forth. The sanitation companies including the Belize City Council sanitation department, we are working into the wee hours this morning and they will continue to do so to get back the sanitation aspects into perspective where we ought to be as well as waste control and BML in doing their work in trying to bring back the city to a state of normalcy."

Benjamin Mendosa, City Engineer
"Castle Street, well we will definitely look into the drainage system. We will try to drain the water more properly to the main piping and try to see if the water will recede much quicker."

Jim McFadzean
"When are residents of that area expected to see any kind of movement towards alleviating their suffering?"

Benjamin Mendosa
"Right now we are looking into the weather and I think we suppose to be getting some more water. We need to have the proper climate to work. We need the water to recede so that we could start working."

Jim McFadzean
"So the next abnormal weather as the Deputy Mayor has describe it, if it was to come through here, we are going to encounter the same inconveniences. I guess people are a bit tired of hearing that you are going to address the issue and they want to see some movement toward that. When does the actual movement towards repairing these hotspots going to start?"

Benjamin Mendosa
"We are working already. Right now the manager of sanitation, the manager of works, we are going to take a drive through the entire Belize to take a look at where we need to address most hotspots, make our own points and try to see especially you are addressing and try to work on them as soon as possible."

Jim McFadzean
"You heard the city engineer talking about the difficulty of addressing all these hotspots during this type of rainy season. But this is a complaint that residents have made for a while now."

Phillip Willoughby
"Yes and I can say the city council has done a magnanimous job in rectifying a lot of hotspots around the city. we did a number of streets behind the Lake Independence area, we look forward to work along with the ministry of works. We have done a number of streets behind the Collet area and the Jane Usher area. The council ahs independently look at where Alexandria connects with Vernon street, in front of Marsden premises and Mars Distributers, the level of the drain was a bit low so we had eliminate the drain and that type of thing technically speaking and it would be the same type of technical work that would have to be look at in that whole Castle Street area. Buts it's not just to say that these streets need to be fix quickly and we would jump old willy nilly per se, we need to look at what the utility companies have beneath the earth and how they might need to restructure some of their fixture and fittings there and then how we go in to compliment the drainage system that connects through Douglas Jones Street. Comprehensively that is how I presume that particular leg of the work will look at and we look to partnership with some of the business from within that area and also to work along with the residents of the city. Whilst we have the responsibility and the mandate to ensure that streets are kept clean through sanitation companies it is also within the by-laws of the Belize City Council that property owners are responsible for the cleaning of the yard in front of their premises, this include your driveway, your overpass and the drain. So you can play your role to alleviate some of the stress of water after the storm has passed."

The city engineer says the floods usually subside within one half to an hour, for most city streets.

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