In Pictures-Dean Leaves Trail of Destruction in Northern Belize
By NEMO Information Unit
Aug 22, 2007, 07:00 pm

Hurricane Dean made landfall on the Yucatan Penisula in the early morning hours of August 21, 2007. As its powerful winds and rain crossed over the Yucatan they left a trail of destruction in their wake.

Many familes were affected. Homes were shredded, power supplies were cut and the water supply was disrupted. The following images illustrate some of the destruction that resulted from the passage of the merciless Category 5 hurricane.

For the pictures, please follow this link:
http://www.nemo.org.bz/nemonews/news_releases/article_308.php

From a friend in Xaibe Village, near Corozal


The hurricane event was something else -- steady -- loud -- howling --
shaking -- winds --

Pieces o9f roofing zinc tore lose and great racket resulted as it slammed
the beams and rafters around.

Water gets in everywhere -- maybe not in great amounts -- but it adds up.
"Wet" becomes the rule.

We sat it out in the house -- we have three options -- the house -- the
"office" -- the hurricane shelter.

What really helped keep the calm here during this event was steady lights
-- go0ing through hours of howling misery in the dark or by candle/lamp
light would greatly increase the terror quotient.

My structures here came out with minimum damage -- but all my wonderful
food trees are gone.

We started cleaning up by 8:00 AM -- the worse of the hurricane being over
by 7:00.

The very first job was to dig the car out from under our only sea grape
tree -- then clear enough of the large avocadoes that had fallen cross the
entrance road to get the car out --

Hurricane relief -- what a joke -- "feeding the animals" will never work --
it turns political -- becomes a major circus -- distracts everyone from
doing anything "PRODUCTIVE"!!

I can outline exactly how hurricane relief should be implemented -- exactly!!

But as it is not US style -- it will never be carried out!!

Within 24 hours after the strike many of the "poor" here were totally
destitute --

The official solution was to make them go to centralized places to line and
beg for their sustenance. ASnd that soo9n became politically distributed.
In fact -- here in Xaibe that was clearly divided into two "spots" -- one
being the UDP center -- the other the PUP.

The solution??

Well -- we had all kinds of people begging for "work" so they could "earn"
their sustenance.

Oh -- huge sums of cash where being thrown around -- but none of it went to
paying some small amounts to "WORKERS" to clean up the mess after.

The Brit and their helicopters -- what a joke that was!!

Must take 1000 gallons of diesel to fly one of those big birds from there
and back -- and they were running two such steady.

Each load carried about a pick up truck worth of goods.

Trucks were running up and down the roads here within hours.

What a waste of resources -- I have lot's more to report about Brit efforts
at hurricane relief --

The village eventually got very upset with them -- and basically chased
them away.

The people here would be extremely happy to get even $20 Bz per day for
working on clean up -- that would sustain them in good shape over the worst
of it -- and have everything put back in order in days.

The worst mistake is donating food -- water --

What we really need "donated" we never go -- roofing zinc!!

Look -- 1000 gallons of diesel a trip those big birds sucked up -- they
were running at least ten trips per day -- 10,000 gallons diesel per day --
$70,000 Bz per day.

People were told not to do anything -- just wait for "help" -- so they sat
around their houses -- waiting.

200 villagers at $20 each per day would cost $4000 Bz per day and have
everything done in 5 days or less!!

An old couple living in a poor house a few hundred feet from me here had
their entire zinc roof blown off. The next day after the hurricane the
Brits got there to fix it -- about 20 service people -- if not more.

The searched out the old zinc and put it back up -- took them 8 hours or
more to accomplish.

I drove by and thought - -well -- this is "good" --

The next morning I saw three villagers ripping that same roof back off -
-stopped and asked -- "why"??

Because it had been put on wrong -- they had not found a few pieces of
blown away zinc -- so had spread the over laps to little- - and the roof
leaked terribly as a result.

As for free food -- thanks -- you have bankrupted every small shop in Xaibe
village!! It will take us a year or more to recover from that -- probably
the si8ngle most terrible result of this Dean event of all -- as it is
these small struggling shops that hand out food on credit to villagers here
between jobs.

Next time -- save lot's of money -- just come to a village post hurricane
and donate the funds required to pay at very minimal wage to workers that
need work the most (you will not need "lists" to find those either!!)

The small shops organize supplies faster than any relief effort does -- but
it kills them financially -- totally -- when they invest everything they
have -- stick their necks way out -- to resupply -- then free food hits the
streets!!

Anyway -- in the end -- people worked themselves out of this hole -- and no
thanks one damned bit to any so called hurricane relief efforts!!

Feeding the animals does not work -- ever!!

Helping fellow humans in need can be better accomplished by paying them
small amounts in cash for hard physical labor -- which is the main item
required post hurricane -- no matter what!!

A total mo-no brainer -- really!!

Have appended from another message wrote this morning -- Aug 29 --

Now I have so much "WORK" to do -- I regret this total waste of time trying
to point the world in the right direction!!

Waste not -- want not --

Waste to much -- die off!!

Learn to conserve -- survive well.

And if ever you are inclined to do an act of good -- wellness -- for
helping people post hurricane -- show up with a truck load of zinc roofing
-- roofing nails --

And if you feel really "generous" -- come with a small cinder block making
machine -- and cement and sand.

Hey -- just like the Cubans do in Cuba!!

(Thus -- we must never do any of that -- right "DOO-GOODERS"!!)

As for government -- there is only one item they really need put up for
post hurricane relief -- Chain saws -- chain sharpening files -- mixed
gasoline -- chain oil. And spare starter cords!!)

That for clearing quickly the main roads -- using the BDF -- which was in
fact done -- to en extent -- but suffered from a few problems.

Not enough Chain saws -- and -- not enough soldiers trained to operate them
right!!

Easy to arrange --

The villagers can clean up using axe and machete -- is so encouraged --
with minimal funding so that they can feed themselves and their families --
funding -- not food care packages!!

No Brainer folks ---

As an aside -- a tropical wave is passing by us right now dumping large
amounts of rain -- poor those that have no zinc!!



Peter Singfield