Ernesto Blew Over
Where is Hurricane Ernesto? That's what everyone was asking last night when - get this - the National Hurricane Center seems to have gotten a little confused about the storm. Their Hurricane Hunter was having technical difficulties and they were relying on Belize radar.
Nothing wrong with that, but - according to a discussion post on their official website - they seem to have mixed up the coordinates of the storm; meaning, that when they said the storm was over Banco Chinchorro at 9 pm, it was really making landfall just north of Mahahual.
If you're shaking your head - we were too at 9:00 pm - as we tried to reconcile the difference between the coordinate points on the radar and the geographic location that was being discussed by the Hurricane Center.
But, no matter the discrepancy Monica Bodden was on the ground in Corozal throughout - and she has this report of what was largely an unremarkable night where they ended up watching the storm because there was none to chase:
Monica Bodden Reporting
Hurricane Ernesto had its eye on the Northern Town of Corozal and residents weren't taking anything for granted.
The town resembled a proverbial Ghost Town as the raindrops glistened in the yellow glow of the street lights.
Shops were shuttered and streets were empty - devoid of any sign of life.
Mayor Hilberto Campus - Vice-Chair, NEMO Corozal
"From the moment we saw the storm - the Corozal Town Council has its own emergency plan in place, and from there onward, we have been working with NEMO. I am the Vice-Chair of NEMO. We have been monitoring the system. We've been keeping the people well informed. We have quite an amount of experience when it comes to these storms, and we have been dealing with it for seven years. Fortunately for us, the storm has kind of spared us. The Corozal Town, speaking on behalf of Corozal Town as Mayor, most of the people have been prepared for this storm, and the ones who couldn't make it, we'll be here until late at night. Any last minute emergencies, anybody who needs to be evacuated, we're here to serve."
16 shelters were opened in the Corozal district - over 300 hundred shelteree's occupied those shelters by 8 last night.
Willard Levy - District Coordinator, NEMO Corozal
"We started this morning with about 11 of them. Those are shelters that we focused basically on the coastal and flood-prone areas. After that, we started to then open shelters as the need arose. It's approximately about 16 shelters that we've opened. We have about 314 shelterees up to now, and every hour, we are monitoring and finding out if there is any increase in shelterees. But at this point, that is the position. Now, as to the different shelters, it's basically the coastal area is Sarteneja, Chunux, Copper Bank, Progresso, Consejo - well Consejo does not have a shelter, but what we do is if people want to move from there, we'll take them over to CCC. We have made our attempts to evacuate them, but nobody has decided to move, considering that they were only looking at rains and a little breeze. So they didn't find the need to evacuate actually. Inland, We have San Narcisio, Santa Clara, San Roman, Louisville, Patchakan, Xaibe and other areas are gradually - as the rains progress - they request for shelter, so we give them the shelter as we need it."
Monica Bodden
"Right now, we are in the Miami Beach area in Corozal Town. It's a little bit after 8 o'clock tonight. As you can see, the winds are really picking up. It's about 40 miles per hour winds that we are experiencing out this side."
The waters of the Corozal Bay rolled back as if inhaled into the nostrils of an unseen giant. Huge raindrops pelted everything in its path - as trees swayed trying to hold their own against the ravages of the strong winds.
Approximately at 9 o'clock-Hurricane Ernesto made landfall on the southern coast of the Yucatan peninsula as a Category One hurricane.
Nature was at war and the signs were visible in the fallen tree branches and flooded streets - as well as in the eerie blanket of grey that settled over the town.
Willard Levy
"All that people should expect is what people are experiencing now, the increase of rain, and as to the wind strength, we should not be expecting any more increases - probably a few miles per hour more, right. It is making landfall right now, so if anything, we will be getting slight tropical storm winds. In terms of flood-prone areas, we have Libertad, Santa Clara, San Roman, certain areas in Corozal Town - these are all low-lying areas, and these are the people who we are concerned about, and are trying to make sure that they go over to the shelters. So basically, those are the low lying areas that we have. We have other areas, but they are not flood prone, not as much as we are focused on."
The eye of Ernesto is forecast to move across the Yucatan peninsula tonight and early Wednesday and emerge over the Bay of Campeche by Wednesday afternoon or evening.
And despite its gloomy appearance, Corozal Town was spared the full wrath of Hurricane Ernesto.
Channel 7
AmbergrisCaye.com 
