Sarteneja#1

Janet…Swallowed by the Waters of the Bay Part 2    Jorge was 21 years old when the most powerful hurricane in the history of Northern Belize; Janet, slammed Sarteneja and left his entire community homeless. This is his story:   I remember the day when Janet came like a demolisher back in 1955. It was a very stormy morning due to an unusual cold front that was affecting our region. Despite this uncommon weather condition, my day started like any other day. I was at Punta Col, south of Sarteneja when I was informed that a very strong storm was about to hit Belize. This shocking news caused panic among the other fishermen in the area and they left everything to go back to their families. I was young and adventurous, this news didn’t cause a single drop of fear and so I continued as if nothing was happening.     I fished that entire afternoon until I caught enough fish to take back home. As I was paddling back around four in the evening, I became concerned when...

  Janet…Saved by a Table… Narrated by Teodoro Verde My name is Teodoro Verde, but everybody knows me as “Toto” or simply “Pastor Toto”. I was 7 years old when I witnessed the worst hurricane of my life; Hurricane Janet. I was living along with my parents and two other siblings in a tiny thatch roof house about 5 blocks away from the sea. That morning we received some news that caught us off guard. A very strong storm was heading straight towards us. Despite that dreadful news, my father was confident that our thatch roof was strong enough to withstand a storm like Janet. He believed that there was no need to join the rest of the villagers at the community shelter. Even though my father was convinced of the house’s sturdiness, he still went on and secured the house with a few planks of wood and nails. Later that evening, the clouds made their appearance, and rain commenced falling gradually increasing to a heavy thunder shower, accompanied by gusty winds which lasted for s...