Hurricane Jimena has finally left the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, after several days of hanging out, doing substantial damage to small communities along the peninsula. Damage was not as great as feared, as the storm weakened dramatically before hitting land, dropping from a Category 4 to a Category 1. So far, only one person has been reported to have died when a creek flooded the city of Ciudad Constitucion.
Our new Field Director, Chris Pesenti, was in La Paz when the storm hit. That major city, as well as Cabo San Lucas, were spared most of the damage, but several communities that we work with were among the hardest hit. Chris received word that the town of Lopez Mateos was cut off and had no access to water or electricity service. Along with Chuy Lucero of
the Grupo Tortuguero, Chris took a large tank of water and successfully crossed the river blocking entrance to town. Other towns including Loreto and Puerto San Carlos suffered damage and electricity black-outs.
From Chris: "what impacted me the most was the attitude of the people, the smiles, everyone happy that they escaped with just material damage, and that with all the fallen roofs and walls there was no loss of life. The man whose house suffered TWO fallen palm trees jokingly told me that at least they kept the roof in place. I felt pretty inspired as a human..."
Chris will be discussing the best ways to help with local leaders. SEE Turtles will do its part to help the rebuilding efforts in partnership with Baja Expeditions. Donations from our Nov 3-10 trip will help support these communities, please contact us if you would like to help.
-Brad Nahill
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