http://www.boston.com/dailynews/282/world/Powerful_hurricane_makes_landf:.shtml

Powerful hurricane makes landfall in Belize, coastal residents flee

By Julie Watson, Associated Press, 10/9/2001 03:00

BELIZE CITY, Belize (AP) Hurricane Iris quickly lost strength Tuesday after making landfall in Belize, with winds dropping from 140 mph to 80 mph.

The compact storm weakened rapidly after striking land late Monday near Independence and Placencia, towns located about 80 miles south-southwest of Belize City.

The hurricane raised seas by 13 to 18 feet above normal, and forecasters predicted rainfall totals of 5-8 inches.

The storm was traveling westward at about 22 mph, and was expected to continue weakening as it moved over Guatemala and eastern Mexico.

The scope of the storm remained quite small, with hurricane-force winds extending outward for only about 15 miles. Tropical storm-force winds, which range from 39 mph to 73 mph, extended outward up to 145 miles.

In Placencia, a fishing village and resort town of several hundred people where many homes are small wooden structures on stilts, numerous houses were lost, said Andrea Villanueva.

''Our own roof went and most of the houses went down,'' Villanueva told local LOVE-FM radio as the hurricane's eye passed over late Monday. ''But we're experiencing a calm right now.''

The radio announcer told Villanueva to stay inside, reminding him the eye of the hurricane is passing over and winds would come quickly.

North of the storm, intermittent heavy rains and winds blew through Belize City, a low-lying, seaside city of 65,000 people where soldiers went door to door to evacuate people from their homes.

The streets, some of which had flooded, were deserted late Monday and homes and businesses alike were boarded up. The nation's capital was moved inland to Belmopan after Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of Belize City in 1961.

Civil defense authorities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras implemented states of alert in anticipation of heavy rains from Iris, and thousands of people left low-lying areas for higher ground.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2001

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http://www.boston.com/news/daily/09/belize.htm

20 feared dead in Belize after dive boat carrying Virginians capsizes in hurricane

By Julie Watson, Associated Press, 10/09/01

BELIZE CITY, Belize -- A 120-foot dive boat carrying vacationing Virginians capsized as Hurricane Iris roared into Belize, and 20 on board were feared dead Tuesday.

Twenty-eight people, mostly tourists from Virginia, were aboard the MV Wave Dancer as Iris hit southern Belize with 140-mph winds Monday night, said Patricia Rose, spokeswoman for Peter Rose Diving in Miami.

The storm had mostly dissipated by noon Tuesday, and it was not immediately clear whether Iris had caused any other deaths in the region.

Rose said eight survivors had been accounted for Tuesday morning. The boat, which capsized Monday night, was chartered by the Richmond Dive Club of Richmond, Va. The dive club had started a weeklong trip to Belize on Saturday.

The vessel had been tied to a dock among mangrove trees along with other dive boats and commercial boats near Big Creek, close to where the storm came ashore some 80 miles south-southwest of Belize City.

"A strong storm surge lifted the boat in the air, snapping the line and capsizing it. The boat may have hit a wall or the dock," she said.

"Belize City was evacuated so we could not put the guests in a hotel. We were forced to keep them on the boat," she said.

The boat capsized in about 12 feet of water but did not sink completely.

"We're hoping for survivors, but I don't know that it's likely," Rose said.

In Richmond, Michael Carr of the dive club said he had little information other than that the boat had capsized. "We don't know how many are missing at this time," Carr said. He said he would make a formal statement during a meeting of the club Tuesday night.

Local radio stations reported that Iris flattened several coastal towns as it hit Monday night, destroying hundreds of houses.

The hurricane raised seas by 13 to 18 feet above normal, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, and forecasters predicted rainfall totals of five to eight inches.

The storm crossed most of the Central American isthmus overnight. By morning, Iris had weakened to a tropical depression centered about 45 miles southeast of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico.

The British Army, which has 250 soldiers in Belize at a training center, pledged to help in rescue operations.

"Reports we have received suggest that parts of the country where it hit hardest have taken a very bad battering," said Major John Knopp, second-in-command of the British Army Training Support Unit in Ladyville, 12 miles north of Belize City.

The storm destroyed many houses in Placencia, a fishing village and resort town of several hundred people where many homes are small wooden structures on stilts, said a resident, Andrea Villanueva.

"Our own roof went and most of the houses went down," Villanueva told local LOVE-FM radio.

North of the storm, intermittent heavy rains and winds blew through Belize City, a low-lying, seaside city of 65,000 people where soldiers went door to door to evacuate people from their homes.

In 1961, Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of Belize City, prompting the country to move its capital inland to Belmopan.

Civil defense authorities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras issued alerts anticipating heavy rains from Iris, and thousands of people left low-lying areas for higher ground.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2001