He has sent me…to comfort all who mourn…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. —Isaiah 61:1-3

In Belize and other parts of the Tropics, we are nearing the end of the Hurricane Season that runs from June to November. However, in Belize, October is the month when we are especially vigilant against hurricanes because in October 1961, Belize experienced its worst ever natural disaster when Hurricane Hattie devastated the entire country.

Psalm 145:2-3 says, “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”

Indeed, our generational stories are important. My post-Hattie generation, Belizeans born between 1961 and 1981, grew up hearing countless stories from our parents and other elders about the horrors of that hurricane. But we also heard lots of stories about the miraculous, mighty hands of God on Belize during and after Hurricane Hattie.

There are many stories within the Hattie Story. One of them is what I'll call  “A Belize City Story.” Most of it is told from the perspective of the then national leader of the colony, First Minister George Price, and gleaned from Chaptrr 17 of his authorized biography George Price: A Life Revealed by Godfrey P. Smith.

By 9 p.m. on October 30th 1961, Smith nattates, all the streets of Belize City were deserted, everyone  taking cover and awaiting what was forecasted to be the worst hurricane in three decades.  First Minister Price, along with the Commissioner of Police, the Colonial Secretary, and the Chief Medical Officer bunkered down at the police station, which served as the hurricane command center.

Around 2 a.m., the full force of the hurricane struck, with winds of over 150 miles per hour and gusts of over 200 miles per hour. The winds also caused a tidal wave that reached fifteen feet in some areas.

Around 5 a.m., Smith continues, the winds subsided, and the rains slowed to a drizzle. When Price and the other men ventured outside, they saw a Belize City devastated by Hurricane Hattie. All the principal streets were impassable due to the collapsed buildings and uptooted trees that lay across them.

However, amids of all that devastation, the hand of God was unmistakable. From the Caribbean, Smith notes, Jamaica was especially generous in donating equipment for lighting and electricity, blankets, clothing, more than a hundred prefabricated houses, and an ambulance. Guatemala sent five doctors and nurses to give anti-typhoid injections. From El Salvador, TACA International Airways flew into Belize almost every day during November, carrying thousands of pounds of relief supplies on each flight.

Indeed, beauty for ashes.

Recovery would take years. But, Smith explains, once Price was satisfied that the effort was sufficiently underway in Belize City, he turned his attention to his vision of building a new capital city inland.

The first phase of Belmopan was completed in 1970. Unlike Belize City, which lacked a plan and basic infrastructure, Belmopan had water and sewerage facilities, electricity, and telephone services. There were two primary schools, a secondary school, a hospital, a public works department building, and a printing office.

By August 1st, even though not all the buildings had been constructed, Smith chronicles, government ministries had begun to shift to Belmopan. A national assembly building was constructed on Independence Hill overlooking a central plaza and flanked by government buildings with a Mayan motif.

Belmopan. A direct result of Hurricane Hattie. God’s beauty instead of ashes.

Photo courtesy of belizeadventure.ca

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