Mexico - Hurricane Emily plowed into the Mexican
mainland yesterday (July 20) less than 80 miles
from the U.S. border. The powerful Category 3 storm battered
the region with 125 mph sustained winds and dumped torrential
rains on dozens of villages and resort areas.
Operation Blessing is prepared to respond to areas affected
by Emily along the Texas coast.
With power outages stretching across the Mexican region,
thousands of residents remain sheltered from the hazardous
weather conditions.
Forecasters believe Emily could cause chaos in the mountains
of northeastern Mexico as it moves slowly inland, possibly
dumping up to 15 inches of rainfall in some places. Emergency
officials also expect rains to swamp the low lying ramshackle
settlements lining the Rio Grande, many of which have
no drainage systems.
The storm had already battered Mexico’s Yucatan
peninsula, ripping roofs off resort hotels and stranding
thousands of tourists along the Riviera Maya, which includes
the resort city of Cancun.
Tens of thousands of tourists rode out the storm in
sweltering, makeshift shelters after mandatory evacuations
for both residents and visitors along the world-renowned
white-sand beaches. Many tourists have now returned to
the Cancun airport, which reopened Monday after closing
Sunday afternoon as the storm approached.
Surging tides swamped many poor neighborhoods, especially
in the state of Quintana Roo where an estimated 3,000
huts were damaged or destroyed.
The area’s last major hurricane was for Hurricane Gilbert
in 1988, which killed 300 people in Mexico and the Caribbean.
However, the resort region had only about 8,000 hotel rooms
at the time. That number has since grown to over 50,000.
Hurricane Emily has already been blamed for five deaths in
Jamaica earlier this week, but spared last year’s storm-battered
Cayman Islands from the brunt of its fury. Meteorologists predict
complete dissipation of the storm in the next 24 to 36 hours.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.
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