标签： Belize

July 27, 2026 — For coastal communities across the globe, the threat of a tsunami looms as a silent, fast-moving disaster that can level shorelines in minutes, leaving little to no time for residents to evacuate to safety. While modern history has not recorded a catastrophic tsunami strike on Belize’s shores, three tsunami warnings issued since 2009 have forced the country’s coastal leadership to confront a critical question: are we prepared for when the threat becomes reality? This week, Belize City — Belize’s largest urban municipality — answered that question by becoming the first community in the nation to earn the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Tsunami Ready designation, an international certification that confirms the city has met rigorous global standards for disaster preparedness, early warning systems, emergency evacuation planning, and public risk education.

The path to this recognition was not a linear one, stretching back nearly eight years of intermittent progress and renewed commitment. According to Christa Von Hillebrandt-Andrade, manager of the International Tsunami Information Center, initial efforts to launch the Tsunami Ready certification process in Belize began in 2018 and 2019, with an introductory on-site workshop, the first round of flood modeling, and the completion of an initial evacuation route map. But the project stalled short of meeting all requirements: the map was never finalized and approved, emergency evacuation signage was never installed, widespread public education campaigns never launched, and formal national and local preparedness protocols were never adopted. With U.S. funding for the initiative set to expire, international partners shifted their focus to another country, where a community successfully earned the certification.

It was not until 2024 that the Belizean government reached back out to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, reaffirming its commitment to completing the certification process and acknowledging the urgent need for comprehensive tsunami preparedness. That renewed commitment kicked off months of intensive cross-sector collaboration, bringing together Belize’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), international technical partners, local government agencies, and community stakeholders to check off every remaining requirement.

For Henry Charles Usher, Belize’s Minister of Disaster Risk Management with oversight over NEMO, the UNESCO designation serves as a critical reminder that disaster preparation cannot be put off until a catastrophe unfolds. He noted that Belize has already faced two tsunami warnings in recent years — one in 2018 and another most recently in 2025 — neither of which resulted in a damaging tsunami. While tsunami events are far more common in the Pacific Ocean, Usher emphasized that the Caribbean is not immune to the threat, and public awareness of tsunami and earthquake risk lags far behind the deep knowledge the country has built for more frequent hurricane disasters. “It’s something that is good that we get this type of education,” Usher said of the certification process, which has helped fill that gap in public awareness.

The United States, through NOAA, played a central technical and financial role in supporting Belize City to reach the milestone. U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Rhonda Slusher noted that the certification is far more than a symbolic honor: it represents hundreds of hours of behind-the-scenes work that will save lives when minutes matter. Just this year, NOAA specialists worked alongside NEMO teams to stress-test evacuation plans, refine coastal flood inundation maps that show which areas will be flooded by a tsunami, and complete dozens of unpublicized required tasks to meet international standards. “We can bring resources and expertise, but effective partnership requires a mutual investment, and you brought it,” Slusher said, crediting local leaders and community members for the genuine commitment that made the achievement possible.

While tsunamis are often perceived as distant disasters that only impact other regions, historical records tell a more urgent story: the Caribbean basin has documented more than 75 confirmed tsunami events over its history, making the threat rare but not zero. For Belize, a low-lying coastal nation heavily dependent on its shorelines for population centers and economic activity, Belize City’s new certification marks a major step forward in protecting residents and visitors from a potentially catastrophic disaster. Reporting for News Five, Shane Williams.

On July 27, 2026, law enforcement officials in Unitedville announced a confirmed motive for a fatal weekend shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured, bringing a key new development to an ongoing violent crime investigation. Twenty-year-old Kevon Anthony Alford, a local Unitedville resident, has been arraigned on four separate criminal charges connected to the attack: first-degree murder for the death of 25-year-old Denvoy Bartley, attempted murder for the shooting of Albert Bennett, and unlawful wounding and use of deadly force against Denvoy’s identical twin brother, Delroy Bartley.

The shooting unfolded around 8:34 p.m. on Saturday, as the two Bartley brothers traveled into Unitedville to help arrange final preparations for their mother’s upcoming birthday celebration. As the group gathered at the location, an armed gunman stepped out of dense, overgrown bushes nearby and immediately opened fire on the group, catching everyone off guard.

In an official press briefing, Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith outlined that ongoing investigative work has traced the attack back to a long-running conflict tied to the region’s illicit drug trade. Smith confirmed that in response to the high-profile shooting and rising community tensions, the department has boosted uniformed patrols across the neighborhood where the attack occurred and deployed a specialized tactical unit to prevent further outbreaks of violence and aid in the ongoing investigation.

A local neighbor and close friend of the Bartley family shared her harrowing account of the incident, recalling how she heard the rapid string of gunshots from her own home, with no idea at the time that people she considered close to her own family were the targets. “I heard the first shot go off, up toward the top of the yard,” she described in an interview. “Then it was just pop, pop, pop, one after another. After that, people were saying the gunman stood over one of the young men and fired again.”

Court records also show that Denvoy Bartley had previously been charged with the 2023 murder of 24-year-old Lionel Lee Budna, but the case against him was ultimately dismissed after prosecutors entered a nolle prosequi, leading to his full acquittal in that prior case.

On a Thursday in late July 2026, 23 residents from two rural villages in Orange Walk, Belize – San Antonio and Santa Cruz – marked a major milestone for local disaster preparedness by graduating as the nation’s second cohort of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members. Unlike professional emergency personnel who often require travel time to reach rural communities, these newly trained first responders are based directly in the villages they serve, ready to step into action immediately after an emergency strikes, before external professional support can arrive.

Over the course of their training, participants mastered a broad suite of critical emergency skills ranging from foundational disaster preparedness and life-saving first aid to fire safety protocols, light search and rescue operations, emergency radio communications, and post-disaster damage assessment. Program organizers intentionally designed the cohort to include diverse representation across the community: members from local education institutions, public health services, village councils, youth groups, and independent community residents all participated, reflecting a core belief that meaningful community resilience can only be built when every segment of a community contributes.

Andrea Grosvenor, Business Development Manager at the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), which provided technical support for the initiative, emphasized the inclusive vision behind the project. “This project intentionally brought together representatives from the education and health sectors, village councils, youth, and other community members, recognising that resilience requires the participation of the entire community,” Grosvenor explained.

Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator for Belize’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), which led the implementation of the CERT program, framed the expansion of community first responder teams as a cornerstone of national efforts to build safer, more self-reliant communities. Speaking directly to the graduating class, Mendez noted that the training was far from easy, requiring commitment, collaborative teamwork, and courage from all participants. “Community resilience starts here at the community where you are going to be able to help each other first before help arrives,” he told graduates, reminding them “Remember that you are NEMO” – a nod to their role as the first line of emergency response for their home communities.

Abdiel Teyul, Chairman of San Antonio Village, spoke on behalf of all 23 graduates, highlighting the transformative impact the team will have for the two neighboring villages. Located in a region vulnerable to seasonal hurricanes and flooding, Teyul explained that the trained cohort leaves San Antonio and Santa Cruz far better equipped to handle emergency events before outside help arrives. He urged his fellow graduates to keep their core mission front of mind: “Remember to always serve with empathy, with the safety of lives as a priority.”

To support the new responders in their work, each graduate received a personalized emergency response kit for on-the-ground use. The village councils of both San Antonio and Santa Cruz also received dedicated coordination equipment to strengthen their ability to organize local response efforts during large-scale disasters.

The CERT training program is funded by the European Union under the Building Resilience to Climate and Hazard Impacts in the Caribbean (BRICS) programme, marking a key investment in regional climate adaptation and community safety. This 2026 graduating cohort from Orange Walk follows the first ever CERT graduation, which took place in Toledo district last year, as NEMO continues to roll out community-focused emergency response capacity across the country.