Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
OP Offline
September 18, 2003
EDITORIAL OBSERVER
In Hurricanes' Most Familiar Territory, Paradises Are Routinely Lost
By CAROLYN CURIEL


As Hurricane Isabel nears North Carolina, where it is expected to veer toward Pennsylvania, there is mystery in its winds. For many of the people bracing for the effects of the storm along a broad swath of the East Coast, a hurricane is a rare event, and even the ones that arrive generally strike only a glancing blow. But in the Caribbean, where a storm's potential for death, destruction and ruin is too well known, residents are on the equivalent of a constant red alert virtually every day of the Atlantic hurricane season. There, from June through November, a churning anxiety accompanies the news of each weather system that is spawned, usually in waters off the west coast of Africa, and sets its sights on the Caribbean Sea.

The heightened awareness is threaded through the rhythms of the region. On any given island, residents know if there is high ground and how to get there, which waterways will dangerously swell, that a storm surge is deadly and that a storm's aftermath is deadlier still. They know to batten down their homes and seek cover, but they also know that there's only so much they can do, that nature always has the upper hand.

Some Americans know the storms firsthand only if they have been unlucky in booking Caribbean vacations during hurricane season. Cruises, airfares, hotels and resorts are often a bargain at this time of year, especially for travelers who either accept risk or fail to understand it. And there are many such Americans, as I learned when I served from 1998 to 2001 as United States ambassador to Belize, which is situated where the Caribbean Sea meets Central America.

Killer hurricanes become lore in the United States, centering around the big ones: Camille, Andrew and the deadliest, in Galveston, in 1900. In the Caribbean, that kind of storm is a more regular visitor, destroying cities, tourist attractions and other industry, like banana plantations, sugar cane fields and fisheries. Decades ago, when Belize was a colony known as British Honduras, and before storms were named, Belize City was inundated by waters that surged over the coral reef offshore.

Among the thousands killed was an American vice consul who was swept from the consulate. That building, vulnerably situated at sea level on Belize's coast, is now the United States Embassy. After another hurricane strike in the 1960's, the Belizeans moved their capital 60 miles west, to Belmopan and safety. But the American embassy didn't follow. Trying to explain this precarious situation to the State Department, I said that in the path of a powerful hurricane, the embassy would be a sitting duck, except that ducks float.

When a catastrophic hurricane approaches the coastal United States, there is typically ample warning and a variety of escape routes. In Belize on the mainland, there is just one two-lane road, prone to floods, heading west to the mountains. Few besides tourists have the resources to get completely out of harm's way.

During three storm seasons, I monitored many systems that sputtered into nothing. Inevitably, though, one would whip itself up, from tropical depression to tropical storm to hurricane, while rolling west across the Atlantic, becoming the first in a volley of gargantuan bowling balls coming down an alley, with the lush Caribbean islands as the unmovable pins.

One such storm in 1998 was Mitch, which - like Isabel earlier this week - was a Category 5 hurricane, with winds exceeding 155 miles per hour. It aimed for Belize, prompting an evacuation of American civilians and some embassy staff. But on its approach, Mitch turned sharply south and weakened to a tropical storm. That might have been good news, but it hovered for days, unleashing torrential rains and mudslides that killed 11,000 people, most of them in Nicaragua and Honduras.

Late in September 2000, Hurricane Keith formed in waters south of Belize, and 12 hours after reaching hurricane velocity, it puffed up to Category 4. It hit hardest at Belize's main tourist island, Ambergris Caye, then backed up and pounded it again. Homes and businesses were splintered, and water stranded whole villages.

In ferrying U.S. aid to devastated areas, I saw no self-pity among the people, most of whom had no insurance to cover what they had lost. They immediately set about rebuilding, so efficiently that there are few clues now to how much destruction Keith caused. For Belizeans, this was not a ruined vacation. It was their life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/opinion/18THU4.html?th=&pagewanted=print&position=

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 256
M
Offline
M
I'm a warden for the US Embassy and remember all the US citizens who had to be evacuated from the islands and coastline and sent inland. Some people never made it and were sleeping whereever they could, whereever it was safest. I walked into the Ambassadorial residence minutes after we got the all clear signal, expecting to see a mess where people had slept, ate and sheltered, only to find the place spotless and empty, generator running, a/c on high, food in the fridge, etc. But not a soul in sight that needed shelter and no questions about how other Americans had fared. So much for her team spirit. She didn't leave many fans behind. But the US Amb before Carolyn George Bruno, emailed from Little Rock ARK a few days ago. He's been a moving force behind the draft Wesley Clark for President. We know Wesley here when he ran Southern Command from Panama and he was well liked by all.


Maya Travel Services
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,262
Offline
Been watching MSNBC's coverage of Hurricane Isabel. All the reporters, all the television coverage, all the resourses committed to a weakening storm. Deep within the bunkers of the media...I am sure they are disappointed that it is no longer a Catagory 5.


Gone fishing!!
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 734
Offline
Wild Bill is correct.
I would like to see those idiot reporters on the beach/boardwalks during a real storm.
It was embarrassing.


Jim
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 324
G
Offline
G
As soon as the wind quits blowing, I will reply

Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,262
Offline
I would ju#@^%(@!%$#?><*&%...damn...just got blown off my chair!! eek eek eek


Gone fishing!!
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 10,850
E
Offline
E
Perhaps you were on a bar stool and one of your eunichs threw it!

Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,262
Offline
Sure, blame everything on my eunichs!!!


Gone fishing!!

Link Copied to Clipboard
March
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Cayo Espanto
Click for Cayo Espanto, and have your own private island
More Links
Click for exciting and adventurous tours of Belize with Katie Valk!
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 278 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums44
Topics79,199
Posts500,011
Members20,460
Most Online7,413
Nov 7th, 2021



AmbergrisCaye.com CayeCaulker.org HELP! Visitor Center Goods & Services San Pedro Town
BelizeSearch.com Message Board Lodging Diving Fishing Things to Do History
BelizeNews.com Maps Phonebook Belize Business Directory
BelizeCards.com Picture of the Day

The opinions and views expressed on this board are the subjective opinions of Ambergris Caye Message Board members
and not of the Ambergris Caye Message Board its affiliates, or its employees.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5