Hurricane Iris struck southern Belize Oct. 8 causing severe damage to roads, electricity and water supplies and destroying 95 percent of the buildings in 35 villages. Repairs could take weeks, but other areas of the country escaped significant damage, including Belize City. Twenty-one deaths from the hurricane occurred when a U.S.-chartered dive boat sank in the bay of Big Creek, about 80 miles south of Belize City. The 120-foot boat was thrown into the air, flipped and sank immediately. Iris destroyed the homes of some 13,000 people and most of the banana crop, taking with it thousands of jobs. Estimates of the damage could reach $250 million.
