September 19th - Hurricane Odile Updates, Information, Photos

Bridge washed out on Hwy 1


September 19th - Hurricane Odile slammed into the Baja Peninsula on September 14th at night. Significantly damaging Los Cabos, La Paz, Loreto and Mulege plus the smaller local communities. There are many reports, updates, photos and information out there so we decided to place some of the information in this blog post which we will update for the next few days.

We will keep contact information at the top followed by a chronological order of information. Most current information first.

Please SCROLL DOWN for all updates (Don't forget to read the other posts from yesterday. They are to the right)


INFORMATION

U.S. State Department’s Overseas Citizen Services at 1-888-407-4747

U.S. Consulate in Tijuana has an email for information/assistance; OdileEmergencyUSC@state.gov

Web: http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/citizen_services/hurricane-odile.html
U.S. Emergency tel: (619) 692-2154

Los Cabos Consular Agency (An extension of the Consulate in Tijuana)
Las Tiendas de Palmilla L-B221, Km. 27.5 Carretera Transpeninsular
San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur C.P. 23406
Phone:(52)(624)143-3566
Fax: (52)(624)143-6750
E-mail:ConAgencyLosCabos@state.gov

Here is a link with the U.S. Embassy & U.S. Consulates in Mexico: http://www.mexonline.com/embassy.htm

Link to Mexican Embassies in U.S./Canada; http://www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm

Red Cross (Cruz Rojo Mexicana) Cabo; (624) 143-7869
Red Cross (Cruz Rojo Mexicana) La Paz; (612) 122-1222

Red Cross Mexico's website; http://www.cruzrojamexicana.org.mx/


UPDATES from Twitter, Facebook, Websites plus images
If you have some information you want us to post, email us at bajavisitor@yahoo.com or post to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/BajaVisitor/358106480904147) or our Twitter (https://twitter.com/baja_visitor). Or you can comment at the bottom of this long post.

NOTE: we can not verify everything on this blog, so please check all information, etc.

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DONATE
Here's a fundraising campaign for the poor in Baja outside the big resorts; http://www.youcaring.com/other/hurricane-odile-relief-for-the-poor/235896

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Update from Gringo Gazette - Sept. 19th

  • San Quintin - missed completely, no impact, no rain. San Quintin Fishing Tournament still on schedule.
  • Hwy 1 flooded at Catavina.
  • Hwy 1 flooded at Vizcaino.
  • Mulege - Houses wiped away, no electricity or gas, roads are flooded and covered with mud. Two stores are open Pangueno and Ayluths.
  • LA Bay - The Village is ok but the road is closed due to flooding.
  • Loreto - Most power, water and phones are restored. Trees and power lines down. Military cleaning up. Driver made it from La Paz to Loreto yesterday. Road passable but one lane in places. They are bussing people from Cabo to Loreto to fly back to the US.
  • Ivan of Santa Rosalia Baja Sur - "We are OK, but the hurricane Odile passed over here Sept 15 all night, We won't have water until 2 weeks more, and some people lost their roofs.  The hurricane was one of the most destructive over the last years on Baja."
  • Los Barriles - Water across the Buenas Aires Arroyo has stopped flowing. Concrete road is passable with some cracks. Lots of downed trees and trash everywhere. Gas rationing at the local Pemex station.
  • There is a collapsed bridge south of Los Barriles so the road to San Jose is impassable as of right now. 

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Update from Gringo Gazette - Sept. 18th

* 3 people dead. 2 were high executives from El Boleo mine who tried to cross a road flooded by a river, another one died of a heart attack.
* Nearly 50,000 people moved from Los Cabos to La Paz.
* 1,000 people waiting at the La Paz airport to leave. There are no commercial flights available but Volarís and Interjet are sending planes free of charge.
* Electricity is restored at 70% north of La Paz and 40% in La Paz. It will take around 2 to 3 weeks to restore power in Los Cabos. Almost 3,000 high tensión poles are down or damaged. Airport, hospitals and shelters have electricity with power plants.
* Cabo airport is fully working. 300 vehicles and around 1,000 electricity company (CFE) workers were brought here in addition to the 1,000 we already have.
* The heads of tourism, civil protection and fonatur are here and they all say they will stay until everything is sorted out.
* Over 3,000 soldiers, sailors and federal gendarmerie are here since yesterday.
* Neighbors have built barricades in every street for protection while convoys of armed cops and soldiers patroling at night.
* 7 people where jailed last night for looting.
* Cabo Mil is reporting to the army.Terminal at San Jose del Cabo airport.


Pueblo Bonita Blanca from  enjoygram account
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Hurricane polo not expected to make landfall on Baja. There will be rain though
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From Cabo Villas Beach Resort;

"Hurricane Odile Update

We are sorry for the delay in getting this Information on the website. We have been working with very limited internet since the storm.

Here is the status of Cabo Villas Beach Resort and Spa:

Power and water in Cabo are being restored over the next 3-5 days. Massive federal aid is already here and infrastructure is rapidly being repaired. Cabo Villas Beach Resort got very lucky. We lost only some glass and suffered leaking and fairly normal storm damage.

Our action plan is as follows:

We believe we can have 80 units up and running by Oct 1st. The remaining units will be ready for occupancy by Oct 15th. We will have the upper pool running by next week and this lower pool the week following. The Baja Cantina Beach Club is opening on Monday the 22nd of September.
It appears that flights from the USA will be available by the end of the month. We will be ready. At this point it appears that we will be able to accommodate most all bookings, except of course those confirmed for the present time through the 26th of this month as airlift is being reestablished and the airport is undergoing repairs from the storm. The airlines will ultimately determine the final Schedule for all of us.
The staff has been amazing. From our beloved GM and heads of departments to our staff, and even guests that were here on site through the storm volunteering their services, we have already made incredible progress! We will be the first resort to open in Cabo!
Stay tuned for daily updates.
Thanks and God Bless. "


Aamzing cel phone footage of hotel room flooding in Cabo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxyM-Vtfxw

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Aid center opened at Captain Tony's in Cabo - http://www.piscesgroupcabo.com/

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Stranded tourists make it home
http://www.cbs8.com/story/26573815/emotional-return-to-san-diego-for-stranded-tourists-in-odile


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Scretary of Tourism in Todos Santos

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Message from Celia Diaz at http://www.mexonline.com/bemcc.htm

"Thank you.  Yes we are in the process of sending aid to Baja Sur.  We were told they are only accepting aid through the Mexican Military.  We have a private airplane ready to take off with water and portable generators.  We are working with the military in Ensenada to send aid.  I will keep you posted."

"Let me know if anyone wants to make a donation.  There is a pilot by the name of Mccleland standing by to take the donations to Mexico.  The Military at Ensenada is standing by to accept donations of water, and non perishable food items, generators, etc.

The president of Mexico sent several military airplanes to evacuate the tourist from that area to Tijuana and Mexico city.

Anyone that needs help can call us and we will contact the military in Ensenada, they are standing by to help anyone in need."
 
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Update from Lily at http://www.gofundme.com/ekf82g

"Good morning, my mom left yesterday because apparently the roads are open as of now. But the situation in Mulege is bad. There's no electricity, there's mud everywhere, and LOTS of mosquitoes. Also, food is becoming scarce. Thankfully, a lot of people that care about Mulege are traveling down there now to help and take food and water with them. So now I'm just waiting for the funds we collected to be transferred to me so I can send it to Mulege."

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Facebook update for San Ignacio area from https://www.facebook.com/bajanomad
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Possible missing person? Here's the email we received today.




"My sister arrived in Cabo on Friday, 9/12/2014 from Los Angeles.   She had a connecting flight in San Francisco.    We have not heard from her since.
 
Name: Vanessa Ivy Perilman 
DOB 8/09/1980
Place of birth: Pittsburgh, PA
Last known location: Cabo airport on 9/12/2014
Contact info: She was staying with her boyfriend, Roberto Goo (found his last name on Facebook).   We think he lives a little outside of Cabo.  We are unsure.  The possible address of where she is staying is Colonia Rosarito, Street Chinook, Cabo san Lucas.
 
Other names we found from Vanessa's Facebook page as possible contacts in Cabo are Moises Lopez Solis and Carlos Altamirano.  
 
Vanessa is 5'8", skinny, freckles, brown hair, big personality, long dark brown hair and brown eyes.   She was traveling to Cabo to surf.  She is an avid surfer.  She was surfing "zippers".
My name: Blair Perilman
Relation: sister
Contact info: bperilman@gmail.com
415-595-0536

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24,000 boxes of supplies arriving in La Paz this morning
http://www.bcsnoticias.mx/arriba-pichilingue-buque-el-zapoteco-con-24-mil-despensas/

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"Re: Bahia Concepcion: Playa Coco's road in is flooded, there's minor storm damage tlo some houses at El Burro, El Coyote houses are ok but road into South Beach blocked where sand covers rock and road where it curves out to water's edge. Buenaventura is ok and open for business, as is Sanispac,m but most other restaurants remain closed. Haven't yet made it into Mulege but heard that some places have power, El Penguino has groceries, Saul's is badly flooded, gas stations have gas. New bridge is out."

Update from Linda Peters in Bahia Concepcion

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Just received this short message from Todos Santos
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UPDATE 9:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19:

Rescue flight out of Loreto: Alaska Airlines will send a 737 rescue flight to take customers out of Loreto on Friday, Sept. 19, on top of today’s previously scheduled flight out of Loreto operated by Horizon Air. The special rescue flight, Alaska Airlines Flight 9661, is scheduled to land in Loreto about 2 p.m. local time and will depart about 3 p.m. It is expected to arrive about 4 p.m. in Los Angeles. Check the current flight status at: www.alaskaair.com/flightstatus

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"This was a positive post I saw on FB today …gives me hope!

Rick AntillonHEART FOR CABO
IMPORTANT ANNOUMNCEMENT!!!!

I just off the phone with a good Mexican friend Jay Vazquez that is at ground zero. He has been spending a lot of time on the streets of Cabo. We spoke for an hour and this is what he told me. Very good news. Also my girlfriend spoke to her aunt that lives by Soriana in San Lucas who confirmed this information is true.

1) The stories of gangs driving the streets with machetes and guns is highly exagerated. He said he has heard of some isolated incidents of a few home robberies and that was it. He said that the streets have been peaceful. No riots or fires. He has not seen one vehicle driving around with gangs in it. He told me that some of the Mexicans out of fear have spread exaggerated stories of multiple home break in's which in turn the gringos heard which in turn made the gringos scared to death leading them to barracade their neighborhoods especially when they see other people doing it. Yes some homes have been brokren into. It's caused a wide spread panic out of fear of danger that doesn't even exist. My friend has been moving freely around San Lucas and San Jose each day and has not seen any violence or gangs. That doesn't go to say that he is seeing everything so if you have actual 'facts' of anything else and are confident of the information please report it but only if you know it's not gossip created out of fear.

2) 14 prisoners broke out of jail but they did not start gangs. They simple broke out and are no where to be found but they are not running gangs.

3) The looting at Costco went like this. Costco told their employees and families that they could go in and take the necessities they need with military patrol overseeing the area. When other locals saw this they felt that they should be able to join in and proceeded to get what they wanted which caused it to be disorderly but not violent. The military could not really stop them without shooting so they let people take things and even things that they really didn't need like tvs. However it was not a forced violent entry and started off with the permission of Costco. This has been the case with some other businesses as well. It's not to discredit the fact that some stores have actually been broken and looted in Los Cabos.

4) He said the basic needs are water and food. So we must continue to raise funds to donate to legitimate organizations that will deliver them asap!

5) He is seeing CFE starting to put up temporary power and phone lines. Some areas he is being told will have electricity in 3-4 days but not all areas

6) He is seeing more and more military come in steadily and restoring order

7) He said the government is doing a great job in making things happen very quickly

8) Roads between San Jose and San Lucas are clear and safe to travel

9) He said he is feeling peace where ever he goes and no sense of fear

I think it's important we spread this news while still telling our friends and families there to be alert in protecting their areas as there will still be those that will steal and take advantage of the situation.

Help is on the way and people will be fed and have water. Continue to pray because the prayers are working and continue to pray for this next hurricane to go west as it seems to be headed that way more and more very second."


Los Cabos post from Baja Nomad
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People waiting in line at a Pemex gas station in Cabo
Courtesy of http://www.utsandiego.com/photos/2014/sep/18/1444444/



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"Friday 2:45am
Copters flying over woke me up, Internet seems a little better, less traffic?
Anyway, just miserable down here, some of my workers showed up for clean up yesterday, all very concerned bout looting andthebad element, security here and development seem to really be patrolling at night, the 2 gunshots were supposedly from an owner that saw a gang of ten looters crossing fence that is down next to golf cours next door.
Heard 2600 people at San Jose airport trying to get out, only 1 terminal partly operational?
Gas if the have it, 1 gallon limit, line more than 1 km.
Shelters serving food 3x a day, radio gives locations, Pena here 2x last 3 days.
House fairly well gutted outside, all dedris in lot net door, getting things ready for polo, after Odile polo looks like I non event, but I'm buttoning up anyway, radio has said nothing about Polo at all.
Was told power could be 10 days? If so that would be two weeks, I'm not that confident.
Water supposed to start returning today to some areas?
Military check points, people told don't be driving with stuff if you can't prove it's yours.
Best of luck too all, it's miserably hot and humid, but feeling luckier the more I see. "
 
Los Cabos post from Baja Nomad
 
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Here's the latest from Travel Agent Central; http://www.travelagentcentral.com/baja-california-cabo-san-lucas/los-cabos-continues-evacuate-following-hurricane-odile-47918


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