NEMO AND BELIZE CITY COUNCIL A NATIONAL DISGRACE, THE MEDIA REPORT!

PORT OF BELIZE NEMO AND CITY COUNCIL RESPONSE TO HURRICANE RICHARD DISASTER A HORRIFIC NATIONAL DISGRACE

By Thursday DAY 4 after Hurricane Richard whomped Belize City the port with a tidal surge and hurricane winds for 3 hours, the situation was absolutely chaos from those charged and responsible for attacking the Hurricance disaster effort. The BUREAUCRATS mired themselves in red tape and were accused of giving family and friends from the donations pouring in to assist those in need.
NEMO our National Emergency Organization said they handed over from Central Government NEMO, to the Belize City Council the responsibility of looking after their residents at their request.
One City Councillor on TV said on the second day, in dispair, that the job was too big for the Belize City Council.
Not a word from NEMO though.
The Belize RED CROSS did a survey completed by Day 3 and said about 100 homes were destroyed or damaged and this would at 5 persons per family, be a core disaster relief effort of 500 persons. None of these core persons and families interviewed by late DAY 3, early DAY 4 had yet received a bottle of water, or some food, or any other assistance. They did say some bureaucratic groups had passed through, making surveys.
By DAY 4, the effects of sleeping in the outdoors, without food and water, made the situation dangerous, as children were drinking from mud puddles. CHOLERA was a distinct possibility. On DAY 4, by the afternoon, PRIVATE SAMARATIN - AD HOC independent groups started getting organized and doing the job of the Belize City Council and NEMO. Food kitchens were started. Stores and bakeries were donating bread to the private volunteer groups, a butane gas company was giving out free refills for butane tanks, so those without homes could cook by Friday, Day 5. The individual scattered GOOD SAMARATIN groups said they would fill in the GAP until the bureaucrats got their ACT TOGETHER and started responding.
Belize City Council and the UDP GOVERNMENT run NEMO can only hang their heads in SHAME! All those organizational seminars, went for nothing, lacking anybody responsible enough to give orders, take charge and start delivering needed water and food to those in need. ACTION should have been the order of the day on DAY 1, MONDAY, the surveys coming later. The NATIONAL POPULATION outside of the port in the 6 districts, can only feel sorrow and SHAME at the response efforts of our bureaucrats. It is and continues to be a NATIONAL DISGRACE!