Why Belize built Belmopan

A capital at sea level

Belize City, capital of what was then British Honduras, is built on ground only slightly above sea level at the mouth of the Belize River, surrounded by mangrove swamps.^[1] On 31 October 1961 Hurricane Hattie and the tidal wave that came with it did enormous damage.^[1] About 75% of the city’s housing and businesses were destroyed.^[3]

Moving inland

The new capital was conceived after Hattie, on a site far enough inland to avoid another flood.^[2] A committee chose the site in 1962, in the Belize River valley 80 km from the coast and about 76 m above sea level.^[3] Building was paid for by a British grant and began in 1966, according to Britannica, or 1967, according to BlackPast.^[2][3]

Government offices moved there in 1970, in May according to Britannica, and housing went up through the 1970s.^[2][1] The city was laid out around a Ring Road, and all its buildings must be concrete, to avoid the fires that had repeatedly swept wooden Belize City.^[3]

A small capital

In 2010 Belmopan had fewer than 14,000 people, most of them government workers and their families.^[2] BlackPast called it the fastest-growing population centre in Belize in 2014, as people leave the congestion of the old capital.^[3] Belize City, hit again by Hurricane Greta in 1978, is still the country’s chief town and seaport.^[1]