Hurricane Jimena ravages central Baja: Relief efforts begin

Both sides of central and south-central Baja were ravaged by high wind, flooding rains, mudslides and flash flooding. Two confirmed deaths, at least one missing. Ham radio operators and MMs can help. Emergency relief efforts have just begun. Baja Bush Pilots is assisting local agencies and the Mexico Red Cross to fly in emergency needs: www.BajaBushPilots.com In Mexico City, head of the Cruz Roja National Relief Coordinator is Isaac Oxenhaut: 55-362-7089, email desastre@cruzrojo.org.mx

As of Saturday, Sept 5: the region from Guerrero Negro and Santa Rosalia down to Loreto has no power, no water, no telephone lines, and most cell phone towers are down. Power and water are expected to be out until Sept 12. Loreto airport is closed. Baja Highway 1 is impassible south of the LA Bay turnoff. South of there, several major bridges are totally gone, many vados are still flooded. Only emergency vehicles (medical or carrying relief supplies) should proceed past that point until further notice. US State Dept. asks US tourists to postpone visiting central Baja for now.

Here are some onsite reports:

One report said the fishing village of Isla Magdalena (Man of War Cove) “virtually no longer exists.” Another said one home there was destroyed. In nearby Lopez Mateos, 750 homes and most businesses were destroyed, including the cannery’s desalination plant and the town pharmacy. Two cannery boats broke loose from the pier and went aground. Puerto San Carlos inside Mag Bay: no reports yet, but it was said to be worse than Lopez Mateos.

Following Jimena’s path, Punta Abreojos village and Laguna San Ignacio (whale park) took a direct hit by Jimena’s eye wall as a Category 2 hurricane, but I have found no reports from there yet.

Up on the mesas, in the large agricultural towns of Ciudad Constitución and Villa Insurgentes, 70% of the buildings (homes, businesses) are reported as destroyed or not habitable, up to 90% in the isolated town of Comandu. The mayor office in Constitución has requested medical supplies, food, water. Other items, cooking pans, utensils, shoes, children’s clothing. Constitución may be Baja Bush Pilots’ first relief zone, flying down on Tuesday, Sept 8.

Right after the storm hit this mesa area, sea temperature charts on www.BajaInsider.com showed a huge plume of cold water spreading 10 miles out into the Sea of Cortez from between San Evaristo Bay and Punta San Marcial. Yatistas should beware of new shoals and rocks close to this shoreline.

Puerto Escondido reported no injuries, all the marina moorings held, a few API moorings dragged. A few attended boats chafed through their own mooring lines or dragged anchor but were assisted by the marina staff and fellow yatistas. A few unattended boats did drag ashore, mostly into mangroves. Loreto airport closed. Highway south toward Constitución is washed out, many bridges gone.

Mulege: a 75-year old man drowned when floodwaters filled his home. Mulege residents are reporting worse damage than from Hurricane John in 2006. The big highway bridge was 2 meters underwater when floodwaters crested. The fire station had 2 feet of water, many roofs gone and walls collapsed. All Mulege grocery stores were flooded. Locals are in need of emergency food & water. Mulege shelters are overwhelmed by homeless Jimena victims, people are sleeping in cars. All homes on Punta Chivato were flooded and damaged, some destroyed.

Santa Rosalia downtown was devastated by flash floods (water, mud & debris) that scoured the central canyon, washing cars and livestock out to sea. The older Marina Santa Rosalia was mostly destroyed, but two slips reported still floated. Singlar marina reported to be OK, no boats or docks sunk. Yatistas said it rained heavily for 48 hours straight. One person is reported missing from a fishing village, according to the Baja Civil Protection agency.

Jimena hovered over Baja’s central mountains and Vizcaíno Desert as a Tropical Storm for 48 hours, then the remnants drifted out into the Sea of Cortez just off Santa Rosalia and Mulege. Then, unusually, the center of low pressure moved SSE down the Sea of Cortez, stalling about 10 n.m. east of Bahia Concepción. We worried it might pick up steam over these warmer waters, but other conditions pushed it back west over land. Jimena has now almost disappeared, but rescue activities and emergency relief efforts have just begun.

Have updates from Baja to share? Email PatRains@MexicoBoating.com

Hello

Welcome aboard my new blog. It’s here to share boating news from Mexico and Central America and occasionally cruising adventures from other venues, new and past. Coming up …

• Hurricane Alley: Now we are in the height of hurricane season 2009, the Pacific coast of Baja just had a brush from Hurricane Jimena and another storm is blooming down south. This blog will post cruising and yacht-delivery tales of hurricanes we got to know intimately - but didn’t love. See what it’s like and the steps necessary to batten down with a Category 5 hurricane bearing down on you. The photo is of the Marina Puerto de la Navidad in Mexico. A natural hurricane hole.
• Med Madness: Our recent 6-week Med cruise on a 57’ Nordhavn starting in Malta, to Sicily, Greece via the Corinth Canal, around the southern Peloponnese, back through the Strait of Messina while avoiding the whirlpools of Scylla and Charybdis, stopping in Sardinia, Corsica, and ending in Rapallo on the Italian Riviera.
• FUBAR 2009: In November, my nautical guidebook Mexico Boating Guide is a Sponsor of the FUBAR 2009, and I’m going along as an Escort of the fleet of 55 power boats, voyaging slowly from San Diego to La Paz, making stops in Ensenada, Turtle Bay, Santa Maria, Mag Bay, San Jose del Cabo and Muertos Bay. I’ll post blogs, video and photos as we cruise southward
• FL to CA via Panama: March 2010, I’ll begin a 4-month cruise from Key West through the Panama Canal to San Diego, stopping in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. I’ll be gathering the latest information for my UPDATES and future editions of both Cruising Ports: the Central American Route and Mexico Boating Guide. Stand by … You’ll get the news first right here.