Statement from Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, MLA

5 August, 2016

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people and Government of Belize as they face the road ahead to rebuild following the damage caused by Hurricane Earl on Thursday.

We have many Caymanians who have roots in Belize. To them, we also offer our prayers and condolences. Belizeans, like Caymanians, know well the frustration of living through and surviving a major storm. I am confident that the Government and people of Belize will quickly recover from this storm as they have faced this situation many times in the past and have bounced back stronger than before.

Our thoughts are with those locally with Belizean connections as they try to make contact with their loved ones to find out how their families and friends have fared.

If you know of someone in our community who has been affected by this storm, please reach out to them.

We should keep the people of Belize and indeed all of the countries impacted by Earl in our thoughts and prayers.

Related stories:

Hurricane Earl weakens to Tropical Storm after hitting Belize

By Phil Helsel From NBC News

A storm system that had been a hurricane when it roared ashore in Belize early Thursday has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves inland, but it still damaged cars and forced hundreds to seek shelter, officials said.

Tropical Storm Earl was bringing heavy rainfall as it moved over northwestern Guatemala and on to southeastern Mexico Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said, but winds had dropped to 40 mph from 80 mph a day before.

“It was a whole lot scarier than I thought,” Philip Gray, a church member from Birmingham, Alabama, who was staying in Belize City told Reuters. “The wind was very, very strong, we saw the air conditioners on the roof coming apart … so very dangerous.”

There were no reports of deaths from the hurricane, which made landfall in Belize at around 2 a.m., but the National Emergency Management Organization said there was “major infrastructure and building damage” and many roads were blocked.

Hundreds of people were sheltered in Belize City and parts of Honduras overnight, local authorities said. The damage to Belize City was concentrated in impoverished areas, and residents were seen early in the day attempting repairs amid the flood waters. In Guatemala, a bridge collapsed in Melchor de Mencos near the Belize border.

Belize gave the all clear at 9 a.m. The country’s Philip Goldson International Airport in Belize City was shut down ahead of the hurricane, but would resume operations Thursday, the country’s emergency management organization said.

The storm was over southeastern Mexico, about 40 miles southeast of Ciudad del Carmen, and was moving west at 10 mph as of 8 p.m. ET Thursday, the hurricane center said. A tropical storm warning was issued for Mexico’s northern coast near the port city, and the storm is expected to weaken Saturday.

Although weakened, the tropical storm could still bring up to a foot of rain to parts of Belize, Guatemala, and southeastern Mexico through Friday, raising the possibility of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

The hurricane center warned that up to 18 inches of rain could fall in parts of Belize, northern Guatemala and the central part of the Mexican state of Chiapas.

The tropical storm, as a weaker tropical wave, was blamed for six deaths in the Dominican Republic as it approached Belize.

The storm on Sunday knocked down power lines, starting a fire that killed six passengers on a bus filled with people returning from the beach, The Weather Channel reported.

IMAGE: Residents stand before a collapsed bridge brought down by Hurricane Earl in the Arroyito neighborhood, in Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala, on the Peten border with Belize, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Luis Soto / AP

Hurricane Earl drenches Belize, takes aim at Mexico

by The Associated Press

BELMOPAN, Belize — Hurricane Earl made landfall in Belize with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph early Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane warning remained in place for Belize and parts of Mexico, though the storm was expected to weaken as it moved ashore.

The hurricane center said heavy rains will be a danger in southern Mexico through Saturday as Earl crosses the Yucatan Peninsula and the states of Tabasco and Veracruz.

Earlier, Belize’s government opened storm shelters and used radio and television broadcasts to urge residents of low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

On Wednesday, Earl raked the northern coast of Honduras with heavy rain. Officials said a big wave capsized a lobster fishing boat in the Caribbean, but all but two of the 83 people on board were rescued. The navy was looking for the two missing.

Authorities also rescued four families in the coastal city of Trujillo after a river jumped its banks.

Image: Soldiers board up windows in Belize City ahead of Hurricane Earl on Wednesday. HENRY ROMERO / Reuters

The Associated Press

For more on these stories and video go to: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hurricane-earl-makes-landfall-belize-takes-aim-mexico-n622661