Hurricane Odile

Hurricane Odile

On Sunday, September 16th, 2014, Hurricane Odile made history by being the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.  As a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, Odile slammed into Cabo San Lucas and all of Baja Sur causing widespread power outages, wind damage and flooding.

San Juanico experienced mild winds approximately in the 45 mph range and received steady amounts of rain for 2 days from Odile.  There was also a storm surge which left First Point’s palapas scattered across the beach.

There was no significant damage done to any structures in town and most importantly no one was injured or worse.  The most significant effect of the storm was done by the over swelling arroyos which wiped out the south road in three places.

As of October 8th, the south road remains damaged.  Storms that have followed Odile have continued to produce rain in the region and as long as the rains continue, the south road will remain impassable at times until they can properly repair the damage.

The north road is said to be worse and therefore San Juanico has been described as an island.  Without access to goods and services, this has meant a constant shortage of the essentials- water, food and gasoline.

San Juanico can call itself lucky that it was spared the same devastation as cities such as Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos and La Paz.  The entire state is still in recovery from this devastating storm and the people of Baja could use your help.

If you would like to help those in need, please consider donating to either Baja Strong or the Red Cross.

The 2014 season has featured the highest number of major hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific on record.  Let’s hope this is the exception and not the norm in the future.