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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2005 
Cancun Empties Out After Wilma
 Will Weissert - Associated Press
| | President Vicente Fox waves to people who are leaving at Cancun airport. Hurricane Wilma battered the area for the better part of two days, causing widespread destruction. (Photo: Gustavo Benitez) |
Cancun, Mexico – Some 10,000 storm-struck tourists trapped on Mexico's Caribbean coast by Hurricane Wilma prepared to leave Friday, even as Mexico's hotels planned for planeloads of new guests.
Bulldozers were gathering up tons of storm debris on Cancun's long hotel strip that was slammed by Hurricane Wilma, and hotel owners in areas less damaged by the storm said they would start flying planeloads of new visitors to coastal resorts south of Cancun on Saturday.
Officials needed five days to evacuate all 40,000 tourists who were trapped inside shelters when Wilma smashed into the resort region on Friday with 145 mph winds. More than two days of furious winds caused what Mexico's insurance industry said was the costliest disaster in Mexican history.
By Friday, many in the region were desperate for running water.
President Vicente Fox was met with shouts of protest on Friday as he visited the small island of Holbox, where many said they have received no food or water.
"Zero bureaucracy," Fox replied, promising a "quick solution."
He found a warmer reception in Cozumel, the first island slammed by Wilma. People applauded as Fox visited the city's debris-strewn waterfront lined with the shattered restaurants.
A few who weathered the storm decided it was time to finally relax.
"How many days have we been since showering? Seven? Eight?" asked Octavio Santos, a 41-year-old electrical engineer who was trying to get a ticket home to Toluca in central Mexico. "We don't want to wait another day."
James Stott of Washington, D.C., said his family of six would have to pay thousands of dollars to buy new tickets out of Cancun because their charter airline company and tour agency could not agree on which was responsible for evacuating them.
"We'll fly to the States and hopefully to near our final destinations," said Stott, a 48-year-old construction manager.
His family rode out the storm at the Royal Mayan Hotel on the beach, but he said the hotel – like many others – had told guests to leave by Saturday so it could start rebuilding.
With the storm now long-gone, a few tourists finally did what they'd come for: hit the beach.
"I decided I had gotten too stressed, and that I was in paradise, so we said, 'We should just enjoy this,' and we went to the beach," said Doug Pousma, a doctor from Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Fox has promised to re-inaugurate Cancun on Dec. 15, when he said 80 percent of the hotel rooms should be ready again.
Jesus Almaguer, president of the Cancun Hotel and Motel Association, said that the country was losing $7 million a day with Cancun shut down.
Owners of hotels south of Cancun in the Mayan Riviera, which suffered less damage, said they had 10,000 hotel rooms ready for visitors right now.
Alex Sosaya of Apple Vacation said his company planned to bring 11 flights of tourists on Saturday and he said the first post-hurricane planeloads of U.S. visitors would arrive on Tuesday.
The company that runs Cancun's airport, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, said Friday that it had restored the airport's damaged control tower and navigation systems. It said the first regular commercial flights since Oct. 20 should resume over the weekend.
Despite the expected arrival of more tourists, not everyone was optimistic.
Alejandra Camarena, a 20-year-old waitress, said she was moving from Playa del Carmen back to Guadalajara in central Mexico.
Waiting for a van to the airport, Camarena laughed when asked if Cancun would be ready for visitors soon.
"The beach is still there, but there's no place to stay," she said. "Cancun and the region are on their feet, but it takes more time to be a tourist destination." |
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