good to hear SImon.... glad ya made it

from a friend....

listening to love fm which always has the best coverage. going to hit n of dangriga, around gales point/mullins river move towards st margarets village, into belmopan and out.

wonderful coverage, listen to it live.

continental canceled flights in today.

Richard is officially a hurricane. Currently a strong cat 1 (85 mph) and expected to gain some in strength. It is also now traveling at 12 mph and tracking a bit more north.

NEMO Public Advisory #6

Tropical Storm Richard

At 6:00 a.m. the center of the Tropical Storm Richard was located near Latitude 16.8 North, Longitude 86.4 West, located 130 miles East South East of Belize City.  The Storm is moving towards the West at 10 miles per hour.  Maximum sustained winds remain near 70 miles per hour with higher gusts.  The Hurricane Warning and Phase III of the NEMO Hurricane Preparedness Plan is still in effect for the coast of Belize.

 The center of TS Richard is expected to make landfall on Belize this evening as a Category 1 Hurricane. 

 People living in coastal communities including: San Pedro and Caye Caulker, Mullins River, Monkey River, Placencia, Seine Bight, Punta Negra, Hopkins, Sarteneja and who believe their homes would not withstand 50 mph winds or do not feel safe at their homes are advised to seek shelter.  Shelters for coastal districts have been opened from 6:00 p.m. yesterday October 23, 2010.

 People living in Stann Creek and neighboring Communities are advised to evacuate to Shelters.

 o    Travelling to the Cayes is not advised.

o   Mariners are advised not to go to sea.

 o   If you have to evacuate do so early.  If you are going to Shelter take along those things you will need.   Your life is the most valuable possession.

 o   By now all Hurricane plans should be in action.

 o   If you live in an area that will flood move your family and belongings to safety. 

 o   Remember stay tune to your radio and television over the weekend!

People who have livestock areas that are likely to flood should move them to safety.  Farmers in areas that normally flood who have crops in the fields should harvest them.

 NEMO strongly advise those people in Gales point, Lord's Bank and Lucky Strike who are refusing to move, to understand that you take responsibility of the consequences of your decisions.

 Employers cannot stop employees from safe guarding their lives in times of national threat to Belize.

 The public is advised to remain vigilant and to be prepared for heavy winds and rains which can cause life threatening floods.  Continue listening to the local radio and television stations for further advisories from the NEMO and the National Met Service.

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Richard is now a Hurricane at 85 MPH. Pressure is dropping fairly quickly.
Track is a little north of previous predictions. Looks like it's going to hit a little north of Dangriga and continue inland south of Belmopan.
Forecast to be a Cat 2 when it arrives.

HURRICANE RICHARD ADVISORY NUMBER 15
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL192010
1000 AM CDT SUN OCT 24 2010

...RICHARD BECOMES A HURRICANE...


SUMMARY OF 1000 AM CDT...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...16.9N 86.9W
ABOUT 95 MI...155 KM ESE OF BELIZE CITY
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH...140 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 290 DEGREES AT 12 MPH...19 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...991 MB...29.26 INCHES

OBSERVATIONS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT HURRICANE HUNTER
AIRCRAFT INVESTIGATING THE CYCLONE INDICATE THAT RICHARD HAS
INTENSIFIED TO HURRICANE STRENGTH.

WALL. GIVEN THE
FAVORABLE CYCLONE STRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT...RICHARD SHOULD
CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL.

THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RICHARD WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 86.9 WEST. RICHARD IS
MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH...19 KM/HR...AND THIS
GENERAL MOTION WITH SOME DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED OVER
THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. ON THE FORECAST TRACK THE CENTER WILL REACH
THE COAST OF BELIZE BY THIS EVENING...AND MOVE OVER LAND TONIGHT
AND MONDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 85 MPH...140
KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RICHARD IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL
STRENGTHENING IS EXPECTED BEFORE RICHARD MOVES INLAND.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES...30 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105
MILES...165 KM. THE ISLAND OF ROATAN HONDURAS REPORTED WIND GUSTS
TO 58 MPH...93 KM/HR.

THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTERS IS
991 MB...29.26 INCHES.

Stay safe everyone, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Aerial view 9:15am

Belize Port Authority just declared that all boats are to get to safe harbour now. Water taxi's etc are supposed to cease operations immediately.

Cloudy, not raining here yet. Reef is roaring. Water is high.

I'm shutting down the computer and boxing it see ya