Posted: Thursday, August 4th, 2016. 6:54 p.m. CST.
By BBN Staff: NEMO Orange Walk continues to assess the damages following Hurricane Earl and following its most recent meeting this evening has decided to keep the shelter in Guinea Grass open.
The river is rising fast and affects several families living near the river bank. NEMO officials say they will be providing provisions to the families as the need arises.
In addition to this, the assessments also show that there has been a substantial loss in crops in southern Orange Walk. The assessment team has not returned from their trip there and therefore an official report on this will be available until Friday.
Meanwhile, Guadalupe Magaña, who contested the Orange Walk South division for the United Democratic Party posted pictures of damaged corn fields in the area. Magaña stated in her post that vegetables, corn and rice in Indian Church, San Carlos, Indian Creek and Blue Creek sustained major damages.
Preliminary estimates put the losses as follows:
Mennonite farmers at Blue Creek lost about 8,000 acres of corn. Local farmers lost 300 acres of corn, 300 acres of rice, seven acres of watermelon, 2.5 acres of papaya, five acres of habanero, five acres of pumpkin, one acre tomatoes, five acres of cabbage and eight acres of plantains.
We will have additional information on the extent of the loss as it becomes available.
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