On July 12, 2026, extreme flooding across central Belize reached such unprecedented levels that it overwhelmed the country’s flood monitoring capacity, pushing water heights past the maximum measurement thresholds installed at key river stations. Tennielle Hendy, Belize’s Chief Hydrologist, has detailed the extraordinary scale of the weekend weather event that reshaped flood records across multiple major river basins in the country.
The hardest-hit monitoring site, the More Tomorrow station located in Cayo District, was completely pushed beyond its operational limits on Saturday. According to Hendy, the station’s sensors are only calibrated to measure flood levels up to 11 meters, but the surging water rose far past that mark after a dramatic, rapid increase. Just days before the peak, water levels stood at a stable 1.8 meters, but climbed rapidly to 7.55 meters before pushing past the 11-meter limit to set a new all-time record for the section. This peak far exceeds any historical water level recorded at the site since monitoring began.
The extreme conditions were not isolated to the More Tomorrow monitoring location. Nearby Iguana Creek also saw an equally rapid, alarming rise in water levels, while the Sibun River Basin recorded severe flood heights that surpassed 3.5 meters. The Sittee River Basin, meanwhile, experienced the second-highest flood event in its recorded history. There, river levels climbed from a low of 1.5 meters on July 10 to a peak of 7.7 meters by 6 a.m. on July 11, marking one of the fastest rises ever documented in the basin.
As of the latest update, the mass of floodwaters is currently moving northeast toward the Belize River Valley, putting new communities in the path of potential inundation. Local authorities are preparing to issue guidance for residents in the at-risk zone, with further details on preparedness measures expected to be released in upcoming segments of the national newscast.
This report is adapted from a transcript of a national evening television broadcast, shared online for public access.