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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2006 
Cabo Three Times Lucky as Tropical Storm Paul Misses
 Frank Jack Daniel - Reuters
| | Off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, officials were searching for the body of an American who was swept away by the waves while he was walking along the beach with his wife and sister. (AP/Gregory Bull) |
The Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos escaped serious damage from a cyclone for the third time in two months on Wednesday when Tropical Storm Paul skirted it and blew toward the mainland.
Rescuers working in the rain evacuated more than 1,500 people on Tuesday night from shantytowns near the Baja California resort and high waves swept away a U.S. tourist who is presumed dead.
But the storm, at one point a moderate Category 2 hurricane, lost strength and changed direction away from Los Cabos, made up of the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
American tourists sipped rum with their breakfast at one sunny hotel terrace. Bartender Antonio Lemus was awed at the area's good fortune of barely escaping a triplet of powerful storms this hurricane season.
"Three times we were on the verge, and at the last minute they dissipated or swerved," he said. "They're saying around here the hand of God touched Cabo San Lucas."
Last month, Hurricane Lane threatened Los Cabos before dodging the region and slamming fierce winds and rain into the western state of Sinaloa.
Two weeks earlier, Hurricane John, with winds of 115 mph (185 kph), barreled toward the tip of Baja California and sent hundreds of tourists fleeing to the airport before it lost strength and veered to the northeast, instead hitting state capital La Paz and leaving at least three dead.
The edge of the latest storm lashed Los Cabos with rain and winds on Tuesday night. Diehard vacationers waded through calf-deep rainwater clutching plastic beer cups to reach nightspots like the Cabo Wabo bar, which were buzzing despite the weather.
Police banged on flimsy doors in poor neighborhoods in danger of being flooded to evacuate the most vulnerable.
Women clutching toddlers and small bundles of basic possessions ran to buses that carried them to schools converted into make-shift shelters.
By Wednesday morning, Paul had passed east of the Baja California peninsula and headed across the Sea of Cortez toward the coast, where it was expected to strike the farming state of Sinaloa later in the day. Paul's winds were 45 mph (75 kph).
The U.S. tourist swept out to sea, a man from Washington state, had not been found and was presumed dead, a fire department official said.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Sinaloa on the western mainland, where three people were killed by Lane last month.
Damage to tomatoes, one of Sinaloa's main farming products and a staple in Mexican cuisine, led to a shortage after Lane hit in September, causing a spike in the country's inflation. |
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