It’s that time of year again. June rolls around, and with it, the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. For those of us living in Belize — especially on the small island of Ambergris Caye — the shift in the calendar isn’t just a mark of changing weather. It’s a trigger for preparation, reflection, and sometimes, a quiet anxiety that only islanders truly understand.
Having grown up here, hurricanes were always a part of our story. As a kid, I remember the buzz of activity when a storm was approaching — boarding up windows, hauling boats inland, filling water containers, and listening to the old transistor radios for updates. Back then, the threats felt occasional. But in recent years, they’ve felt much more frequent, more intense, and frankly — more unpredictable.
The past few seasons have given us more than just close calls. In 2020, Hurricane Nana made landfall in southern Belize as a Category 1, and while Ambergris Caye was spared the worst of it, the threat was real. The following year, 2021, brought an exhausting number of named storms in the Atlantic basin, many of which had their eyes set on Central America. In 2022, Hurricane Lisa slammed into Belize City as a Category 1 storm, leaving destruction in its wake and reminding us of the fine line between a near miss and disaster. Our island saw flooding, strong winds, and yet again, the resilience of our community on full display.
Hurricane Season 2025
Now, in 2025, early predictions from climate experts suggest another above-average season. Warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures and reduced wind shear—a perfect cocktail for storm formation — are setting the stage. Some forecasts are already predicting 18 to 20 named storms, with at least 8 becoming hurricanes, and several potentially reaching major hurricane status.
As beautiful as Ambergris Caye is, it remains extremely vulnerable. Our elevation is barely above sea level. Our homes—many made of wood or older concrete — still face risks from flooding, storm surge, and wind damage. And with more people living on the island now than ever before, the logistics of evacuation, sheltering, and recovery are increasingly complex.
So the question is not if we’ll be impacted this season — it’s how ready we’ll be when the time comes.
Preparedness isn’t just the job of NEMO or local government. It’s on all of us. We need to know our evacuation routes. We need to have our emergency kits stocked — not just when a storm is on the radar, but now. We need to look at vulnerable neighbors, aging infrastructure, and make sure we aren’t just crossing our fingers and hoping for another lucky year.
But I also believe in our strength. Ambergris Caye has always had a unique spirit—tight-knit, resourceful, and quick to come together when it matters most. I’ve seen it after every storm — the neighbors sharing generators, the crews clearing roads and hauling debris, the families opening their homes to others in need. It’s that unity that has carried us through before, and it’s what we’ll need again.
As we move into this 2025 hurricane season, I hope we do more than hope. I hope we prepare. I hope we educate. And I hope we remain committed to protecting this paradise we call home.
Because hurricanes don’t care if we’re ready. But we should.
Ambergris Caye’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) gets an upgrade in Disaster Risk Preparedness. “We are most active during the storm season and we are grateful to learn from our community partners.”
