Flood Prevention Seminar Hosted by Governments of Taiwan and Belize

The Governments of Taiwan and Belize hosted a Belize Flood Prevention Seminar on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, in Belize City.

The seminar had distinguished experts from Taiwan and Belize who shared their experiences and technologies in the following topics (1) Disaster Research and Prevention Strategy, (2) Flooding disaster simulation and early warning technology in urban areas, (3) Disaster Prevention in Using Geographic Information Systems(GIS).

Like many other low-lying coastal nations, Belize is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Its geographical location leaves the country exposed to the risk of increasing frequency and intensity of tropical storms and extreme rainfall and causes the loss of lives and property. In order to minimize the impact caused by extreme weather, the Governments of Taiwan and Belize are working on a flood prevention project to develop an improved emergency management system with the application of advanced hazard mitigation technologies to reduce the negative consequences of disasters.

This project is based on the types of natural disasters in Belize and existing software and hardware conditions of its disaster prevention units, to assist in marking out the potential flood areas and strengthen monitoring, as well as establish an early warning mechanism for floods. In addition, capacity building and training courses will also be included so as to enhance the technical capabilities of Belize’s disaster prevention and protection units.