Hurricanes and the Weather in Belize - Is my property at risk?

Hurricanes! We've all seen pictures of them on TV and see the destruction they can cause. So naturally when someone is looking to buy property in the Caribbean the question comes up "What about hurricanes?"

Well, I can tell you from personal experience (along with my own research) that when it comes to hurricanes I'd rather live here then anywhere else in the Caribbean. Why?see the destruction they can cause. So naturally when someone is looking to buy property in the Caribbean the question comes up "What about hurricanes?"

 

 

The simple reason is THE MAINLAND. Belize is one of those few countries that has 2 components to it, the mainland and its islands. Ambergris Caye feels a world away from the mainland. When you are here you feel like you are in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. But in reality the mainland is just a 15 minute Tropic Air flight away.

 

This is a HUGE benefit. Something that other Caribbean islands don't have and its one reason why I feel so safe living here.

 

Here is why. Belize keeps a close eye on all tropical storms and hurricanes. If it looks like a larger one is heading for San Pedro the whole island evacuates to the mainland. This happens very quickly even though about 20,000 people live here full time. When an evacuation takes place all of the planes in the Tropic Air and Mayan Island Air fleet work non stop running people to the mainland. In addition all of the water taxis run non-stop.

 

So within 24 hours the island can look like a ghost town. Many of the locals go to families homes on the mainland. Tourist either go to the International Airport and fly out of the country or they simply go someplace where they won't be affected.

 

For instance, several years ago my wife and I evacuated for Hurricane Dean. It looked like it was coming right for San Pedro. So we flew to Belize City and hopped on a bus to Windy Hill. A beautiful resort in the Cayo District. We went site seeing and even went cave tubing in the Barton Creek Cave system. We had a great time and when the hurricane passed by we simply flew back to Ambergris Caye.

 

What struck me in all of this was watching CNN. It showed pics of tourists stuck in the international airport in Jamaica and a few other Caribbean Islands. They were stuck and couldn't get off when the hurricane hit because once those big jet liners left they weren't coming back for anyone.

 

This is when I realized just how cool it is to live on Ambergris Caye and know that if a hurricane where to come for us we'd be able to get off the island and get to somewhere safe quickly. There are some other good things to note about storms and hurricanes in Belize. I'll comment on these in other blog posts.

 

Dennis Kay II

RE/MAX Island Real Estate
www.BelizeIslandsRealEstate.com