Editing Geography of Belize (section)

=== Hurricanes ===
Hurricanes have played a devastating role in Belizean history.<ref name=":9" /> In 1931 an unnamed hurricane destroyed over two-thirds of the buildings in Belize City and killed more than 1,000 people.<ref name=":9" /> In 1955 [[Hurricane Janet]] leveled the northern town of Corozal.<ref name=":9" /> Six years later, [[Hurricane Hattie]] struck the central coastal area of the country, with winds in excess of {{convert|300|km/h|mph|0|sp=us}} and {{convert|4|m|ft|1|adj=on|sp=us}} storm tides.<ref name=":9" /> The devastation of Belize City for the second time in thirty years prompted the relocation of the capital some {{convert|80|km|mi|0|sp=us}} inland to the planned city of [[Belmopan]].<ref name=":9" /> A hurricane that devastated Belize was [[Hurricane Greta-Olivia|Hurricane Greta]], which caused more than US$25 million in damages along the southern coast in 1978.<ref name=":9" />

There was a period of 20 years that Belize was considered as a hurricane-free zone by many{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} until [[Hurricane Mitch]] (October 1998) gave rise to hurricane awareness and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO). One year later [[Hurricane Keith]] hit Belize, followed the following year by [[Tropical Storm Chantal (2001)|Tropical Storm Chantal]].

In 2001, [[Hurricane Iris]] swept through the southern part of Belize causing damage that ranged in the hundreds of millions due largely to wiping away the [[banana]] industry, crippling the [[citrus]] and tourism in the area. Six years later, the fury of [[Hurricane Dean|Category Five Dean]] landed on the Yucatán coast at Mahahual and Corozal in northern Belize, was not spared the brunt of reportedly Category 3 to 4 winds. Hurricane Dean did tens of millions in damages, especially to the infantile [[papaya]] industry and to a lesser extent to the endemic [[sugar cane]] industry.

[[File:Mountain Pine Ridge Uploaded on November 28, 2007 by tomeppy (cropped).jpg|thumb|center|600px|The [[Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve]], Belize.]]