TaiwanICDF - TaiwanICDF and NTU Share Disaster Prevention Expertise: Flood Belize River Basin Flood Warning Project Successfully Concludes

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TaiwanICDF and NTU Share Disaster Prevention Expertise: Flood Belize River Basin Flood Warning Project Successfully Concludes

A three-year project to improve disaster management in Belize came to a conclusion at a closing ceremony held on Oct. 23.

The Flood Warning Capacity Improvement for the Belize River Basin Project was a joint effort between the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), National Taiwan University (NTU) and the Belizean Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. The event highlighted the tangible outcomes of the three-year collaboration, which improved Belize’s capacity for disaster early warning and risk reduction using technology.

The ceremony opened with remarks by Ms. Milagro Matus, the ministry’s chief executive officer. Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize, Lily Li-Wen Hsu, also spoke at the ceremony, emphasizing Taiwan’s longstanding commitment and concrete actions in supporting Belize’s disaster prevention efforts, which she said reflect the spirit of deepening friendship through practical cooperation. NTU Professor Dr. Hao-Che Ho delivered a keynote speech titled “Technological Disaster Prevention and Taiwan’s Experience,” illustrating how technology tools can enhance early warning and mitigation capacities under extreme weather conditions, using the Hualien barrier lake collapse as a case study.

Building upon the achievements of the previous Belize Urban Resilience and Disaster Prevention Project—implemented from 2019 to 2022—the three-year flood warning project launched at the end of 2022, and was led by the Taiwan Technical Mission in Belize. The Mission provided technical training and coordinated cross-agency collaboration between NTU experts and Belizean institutions, including the Department of the Environment, National Meteorological Service, National Hydrological Service, and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO). Together, they organized community resilience workshops, disaster drills, and public awareness campaigns, and distributed disaster prevention materials and manuals.

According to TaiwanICDF Project Manager Mr. Jui-Chun Tuan, over the past three years, the project team established five hydrological monitoring stations, produced flood potential maps for Belmopan, San Ignacio and the surrounding villages, and Belize City, and developed a flood early warning platform and alert notification system. It also strengthened community and school disaster preparedness. For instance, the popular tourist destination of San Ignacio—which previously lacked an alert mechanism—can now receive flood warnings up to three hours in advance, significantly improving local disaster resilience.

The Mission was also invited by NEMO to participate in the Second National Youth Disaster Risk Reduction Forum, co-hosted with UNICEF on October 24, where the team introduced Taiwan’s emergency preparedness kits and shared best practices.

TaiwanICDF Deputy Secretary General Peifen Hsieh stated that the successful completion of this three-year project marks an important milestone in Taiwan–Belize cooperation on disaster prevention and demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to advancing disaster prevention and resilience. She added that the TaiwanICDF will continue leveraging Taiwan’s expertise in information technology and disaster management to help partner countries strengthen community resilience and disaster response capacities.