SAILORS spent three days clearing up in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean, repairing homes in Belize.

Dean battered its way through the Commonwealth country after swirling around the Caribbean, striking Jamaica, Montserrat and St Lucia, before blowing itself out over the Yucatan peninsula.

Hanging on the storm’s coat tails were HMS Portland and her supporting tanker RFA Wave Ruler, a veteran of the RN’s relief operations after Hurricane Ivan three years ago.

Dean’s damage was mercifully not as severe as originally predicted – it by-passed Grand Cayman where Portland and Wave Ruler had initially been ready to help out.

But it nevertheless ripped roofs of homes, knocked down power lines and caused other damage, chiefly around the villages of Xiabe and Christo Rey.

After an initial party was sent ashore by the two vessels to assess damage, a larger force was flown in by the ships’ Lynx helicopters

The work parties built new roofs or repaired damaged ones (mostly with tarpaulin) and fixed a church, while medics saw any locals injured by the hurricane.

See October’s Navy News for more words and images from the clear-up operation in Belize.