Tropical Storm/Hurricane Ernesto Takes Aim for Belize: Boats & Docks Readying, Laundry Drying and Radios On

Everyone on Ambergris Caye and all of Belize has his/her eyes on Tropical Storm Ernesto which, according to the most recent projections, is strengthening a bit and headed straight for us as a Category One storm.Here is a current picture.  It’s incredibly humid, there are some heavy clouds and the sea is flat like a pancake.

Here is the most recent update from wunderground.com.

The storm is over a day away and the path, speed and strength can still change but here on the island, we are getting ready.  The projections have been flip flopping between Tropical Storm and Cat. One hurricane for the past day.

The first thing I noticed on my walk into the DFC area this morning was that every single radio is tuned to the local stations for updates and announcements from the emergency organization, NEMO.  Certainly no panic…but just vigilant.

Second thing I noticed?  Everyone is trying to get their laundry done before the rain hits.

I swung into Captain Shark’s Boatyard on the backside of the island.  They were busy preparing space for boats to move in this afternoon.  Away from the waves of the ocean.

The manager says that the phone has been ringing all morning and they are expecting boats to arrive this afternoon.  Most will stay in the canal.

At Royal Palms, the staff is removing boards from the dock in case we experience a storm serge.  A tedious job indeed.

Again, there is no panic.  We are expecting lots of rain and some high winds at this point.  But it is ALWAYs best to be prepared.

Here are my tap water gallons…perfect if for any reason we lose power and you need to flush the toilet or take a little sponge bath.  In my six years on the island, I have only used these once!  And that was for a non-storm related black out.

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