I f you have plans to visit the Mexican state of Baja California Sur within the next two months — especially the southern tip where Los Cabos and La Paz are located — you will most likely need to postpone your plans.
The landfall of Hurricane Odile — the strongest tropical system in recorded history to ever directly impact Baja California Sur — occurred late this past Sunday, September 14, 2014 and caused substantial damage to infrastructure and buildings.
Tens of thousands of tourists — many of them from the United States, Canada and Great Britain — are being airlifted out of places such as Cabo San Lucas, where sustained winds of up to 125 miles per hour from the Category 3 hurricane left the resort town without running water, electricity or telephone service. Significant flooding and mudslides have been reported.
Those tourists are reportedly catching connecting flights in Tijuana and Mazatlan.
According to a message in pink at the top of the official Internet web site of the Hilton Los Cabos Beach and Golf Resort, “Due to Hurricane Odile, the hotel is closed to arrivals and is not accepting existing or new reservations at this time. All Guests and Team Members are reported safe.” Photographs of the extensive damage to this resort property can be found in this article of the Daily Mail.
The Westin Resort & Spa — where windows were reportedly blown out — and the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort in Los Cabos also remain closed and are not accepting reservations at this time until further notice.
“IMPORTANT NOTICE: Hyatt Place Los Cabos operations have been impacted by Hurricane Odile’s recent passage through the area. The hotel is currently closed and not accepting reservations until further notice” reads a message at the official Internet web site of the Hyatt Place Los Cabos. Photographs of the extensive damage to this and other hotel properties can be found here.
Los Cabos International Airport — the seventh busiest airport in Mexico — remains closed.
At least 135 people were treated for minor injuries. No deaths have yet been reported as a result of this storm.
FlyerTalk members asked for advice and updates of what people they know who are stranded in the stricken areas of Baja California Sur should do.
A large portion of the southwestern United States is bracing for “tremendous rainfall” from the remnants of Tropical Storm Odile. “There is the potential for devastating, catastrophic and historic flooding in this scenario”, according to Ken Clark of AccuWeather.
Your travel plans may be impacted over the next couple of days if you plan on originating or departing from cities such as Phoenix, Albuquerque and El Paso. Tucson is expected to experience as much as ten inches of rain, which could cause catastrophic flooding — meaning roads can be washed out and bridges swept away. This region was significantly impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Norbert last week, which ironically never had an official landfall.
After affecting Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, southern Colorado, western Texas, southwestern Kansas and the panhandle of Oklahoma, the system is expected to spread rain eastward.
Hopefully your travel plans are not affected; and that everyday life returns to the areas impacted by the storm once known as Hurricane Odile return to normal as soon as possible.
