July 13, 2026 — Residents across the Belize River Valley are being urged to maintain emergency preparedness and stay vigilant as unusually rapid floodwaters, which overwhelmed western regions of the country over the weekend, push downstream at an unprecedented pace. Tennielle Hendy, Belize’s Chief Hydrologist, confirmed Saturday that rural communities in the Belize District are already experiencing early flood impacts just 24 hours after heavy inundation hit the Cayo District to the west — a far faster progression than the multi-day timeline recorded in past flood events, with additional water surges still en route.
In a briefing carried over from an evening television newscast, Hendy outlined the current conditions of the river system, noting that rising water levels are already visible across the entire Belize River Valley. As of the most recent official readings, water at Bermudian Landing has nearly reached the top of the river’s banks, while areas further downstream at Double Run, closer to Belize City, are already at full bank capacity. These readings confirm that the first wave of floodwaters from the west has already arrived in lower-lying valley communities.
Crucially, the flood event is far from over, Hendy emphasized. Upstream at More Tomorrow, river levels remain elevated at 10 meters, well above the baseline considered normal for the waterway. This means additional volumes of water will continue to flow downstream into the Belize River Valley over the coming hours, raising the risk of widespread inundation for at-risk communities.
The accelerated speed of the flood has surprised hydrological teams, breaking historical patterns that have guided emergency response in past events. “Normally, it takes roughly three days for floodwaters from More Tomorrow to reach the Belize River Valley,” Hendy explained. “But just 24 hours after the initial flooding in Cayo, we are already recording sharply increased levels in the valley. This event does not follow predictable timeframes; it is moving a bit faster.” The higher volume of water pushed into the system by the initial western flooding has directly driven this unusual pace, creating a more challenging timeline for emergency preparation than communities have faced in prior events.
Hendy also addressed growing concerns over potential flooding in Crooked Tree Village, advising local residents to remain on high alert even as early assessments suggest the event will not reach the most severe threshold. Currently, hydrological projections do not expect floodwaters to rise high enough to make the village’s key causeway impassable, a point of major concern for local transportation and access.
This report is a transcript of an evening television broadcast, with all statements from speakers originally delivered in Kriol transcribed using a standard regional spelling system for clarity.