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September 16, 2014

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Mexico tourist haven battered by storm

HURRICANE Odile whipped through the popular beach resorts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula early yesterday, uprooting trees, dumping heavy rain and forcing thousands of tourists to take cover in emergency shelters.

Winds of up to 175km/h buffeted shelters as one of the worst storms on record hit the luxury retreats of Los Cabos, battering Mexico’s northwest coast.

The US National Hurricane Center said Odile had eased to a category 2 hurricane, but would likely cause life-threatening flooding and mud slides in the next few days. The weather service said Odile was expected to slow as it pushed north-northwest along the desert peninsula.

Winds eased slightly as the storm moved over land. But because it struck in the middle of the night, details were scarce on the extent of any damage.

Tourists in shelters or hiding in the bathtubs of their rooms posted photos on social media showing windows, barricaded with furniture, after they were blown out by the strong winds.

“This is really bad. My ears are about to explode by the pressure and I have an inch of water in my kitchen/living room,” said Sarah McKinney on her Twitter account.

At least 26,000 foreign tourists and 4,000 Mexicans were in the region, Mexican officials said. Emergency workers and military personal evacuated thousands of people from areas at risk of flooding.

Some experts said it was the strongest hurricane to hit the tip of the peninsula since the advent of satellite data.




 

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