|
|
- gustav's outter effects
|
- From: "Diane Campbell" <diane at dianecampbell.net>
- Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:42:01 -0600
|
|
One the shores of Ambergris Caye the sea
yesterday and last night rose dramatically - the surface was calm, no
chop. We rarely have anything approximating a swell, especially here
inside the reef, but last night we had them. Big mountains of water moved
slowly in over the reef, and then back out again. Local flooding, piles of seagrass and logs on the
beach. Seas are flat again today and water levels are back to
normal.
Clear skies, bright sun.
Miss San Pedro was crowned last night amidst
a lovely island celebration that included wonderful costumes, dances and even an
Elvis impersonator. Many local people have friends and family
living in the New Orleans area, so despite the festive atmosphere there was much
talk about worries and fears for them and for everybody during the rest of this
season. We are mindful that anything can happen. The devastation to
one's emotional landscape can be as difficult to repair as the cities
themselves. On a positive note I see that people are allowed to
bring their pets in the evacuation. This will save many lives, both human
and otherwise. Good decision by the planners.
Prayers for NOLA.
Diane Campbell
San Pedro Town
Ambergris Caye
Belize
|
|
|
- Ambergris Caye Saturday
|
- From: "Diane Campbell" <diane at dianecampbell.net>
- Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:38:39 -0600
|
|
With great concern we have watched the
ever-wobbling "cone of uncertainty" projected by Gustav. (This
week Dr. Jeff Masters pointed out that only 2/3 of the times do
the hurricanes stay inside that cone - one more bit of information for us
worry-warts to file away in our memory banks.)
Our hearts go out to those affected in DR,
Haiti and Cayman ......... and those to be affected soon in
Cuba. For New Orleans we
offer a prayer. It's sickening to contemplate Gustav getting even
close.
For those who are watching and wondering
what (if any) effect Gustav has had here in Belize
............. Last night a bit
of thunder and a short but intense rainstorm on Ambergris Caye. It's
been really dry lately so the rain was welcome. It's still really
really hot. The seaweed that floats in looks par-boiled and the water
along the shore feels like a hot tub.
Today the sea to the east is flat calm, the
tide is very high, and the winds are coming from the west. The west-wind
is unusual.
Belize celebrates two major national
holidays in September. St. George's Caye Day on the 10th,
and Independence Day on the 21st. The whole month is dedicated to
celebrations of one kind or another with parades, carnivals,
competitions. That's probably good because it keeps us
from jumping out of our skins fretting about storm season. If one
comes for real we will be ready and if not we will be busy with music, food and
dance. Tonight is the Miss San Pedro Pageant. Hopefully
we won't be rained out - like all of our celebrations, this one is outside
at the old football field.
|
|
|
- Emailing: Hurricane Planning - August 08
|
- From: "Diane Campbell" <diane at dianecampbell.net>
- Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:38:22 -0600
|
|
Hi Again -
I'm attaching the Hurricane Planning
advisory we prepared for our island and neighborhood.
I hope that is technically the right way to
share this with you!
Some of the details are clearly specific to
Ambergris Caye, but most are useful guidelines elsewhere.
Cheers
Diane
The message is ready to
be sent with the following file or link attachments:
Hurricane Planning -
August 08
Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may
prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your
e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
|
Attachment:
Hurricane Planning - August 08.doc
Description: MS-Word document
|
|
- wondering about invest 94?
|
- From: "Diane Campbell" <diane at dianecampbell.net>
- Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:21:38 -0600
|
|
The weather on Ambergris Caye today is
(as yesterday and the day before) hot, dry, clear and with very light
breezes. Sunrises are fantastic. The strong sun and lack
of rain is burning the leaves of many plants that are normally green and lush at
this time of year, but I suspect the rains will visit us soon enough.
I have questions about our current area
of concern - Invest 94 ----------
what will it become and where ..............
and how do they name these things?
Seems we already had an invest 94 - or a 94L
that turned into Dolly, no?
Awareness campaign -
We have a casual neighborhood association
that is working on a comprehensive directory (including physical map) of
residences, residents, phone, e-mail and radio contact info. Also on
that list we have noted resources - for instance who has medical
training, who has a generator, who is a boat captain etc.
This is being shared with all
neighbors, with police and NEMO (national emergency management
organization) to assist in emergency response.
In addition, we assembled and distributed a
list of hurricane websites (stormcarib and the wonderful tool of "how close can
it get" are definitely included); and a comprehensive step-by-step outline of
how to prepare for a storm, all distributed to our mail
list. The head of NEMO met with interested neighbors to
explain how NEMO works and what we can expect from this
organization. Individuals are asked to notify the area
chairman of NEMO about or plans to go or stay in the event of a storm - this is
intended to aid NEMO in knowing who to rescue should rescue be
necessary. I will try to post a link to the storm-preparation outline in
hopes that it will be of use to everybody - even those of us who have been
through some big storms tend to forget some elements of planning and having
a checklist proves useful.
Stay dry and keep in touch!
Diane Campbell
Ambergris Caye
Belize
|
|
|
- Floods and Rain
|
- From: "Diane Campbell" <diane at dianecampbell.net>
- Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:40:51 -0600
|
|
A wild and wet tropical wave crossed
the country last night.
We've had brief strong storms off and on all
week, but last night was something else altogether. The big hit slammed
into us about 7pm and kept up all night long. Thunder and
lightening, strong winds. Rivers that flooded so badly in TS Arthur are now rising
again. The temporary crossing at Kendall Bridge was destroyed yesterday
- and that was before the tropical wave hit last night. Mullins
causeway is under water. This effectively cuts the south of the
country off from the north again. Belize Defense Force has been
deployed to run people across Kendall River by boat.
Warnings for New River and Rio Hondo to rise
significantly over the next day or two.
We can confirm that at least 3 inches of
rain fell in our area of Ambergris Caye, and power is out in our
neighborhood.
The sports report on LoveFM referred to
weekend "wetball" games ........ Up in the mountains the locals report
unusually cool weather and strong winds. Meteorological service said
this is due to a downdraft related to the thunderheads.
Buoys at Swan Island report sustained winds
of 21 kts and gusts to 25 kts. Relatively high pressure accompanies this
weather system. Seas are rough.
Predictions are for weather to clear
tomorrow.
|
|
|
- Situation Report #4 - Flooding in Belize
|
- From: <webmaster at cdera.org>
- Date: 5 Jun 2008 21:11:26 -0000
|
|
Northern Belize is bracing for floods whilst Southern Belize continues the recovery process after four (4) days of flooding.
Please see attached.
Attachment:
SITREP%204%20Final.doc
Description: MS-Word document
|
|
- Situation Report # 3 - Flooding in Belize
|
- From: <webmaster at cdera.org>
- Date: 4 Jun 2008 17:10:40 -0000
|
|
Message: Belize districts affected by floods declared disaster areas.
Please see attached.
Attachment:
SITREP%203.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
|
|
