Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Cleanup continues two days after Category 4 Hurricane Lidia pounded Puerto Vallarta and surrounding areas. Thousands of toppled trees, severed branches, and downed utility lines litter the streets of every colonia. A disaster like this really brings out the best in people; neighbor helping neighbor in every colonia.
“If we don’t do it no one else will,” says Puerto Vallarta resident, Luis Matiz. “The city has its hands full with the huge trees that have fallen. We can handle the small stuff, keeping our streets and sidewalks passable.” The city has a huge job to tackle with municipal dump trucks picking up the debris. But the problem doesn’t end there.
More than 120,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity, but as of late Wednesday night, 57% of those who had lost power could flip on the lights with confidence.
“With the power out for more than 36 hours, once of my concerns is the food in my refrigerator and freezer,” says Puerto Vallarta homeowner, Lety Garcia, whose power has not yet been restored. “So we are cooking everything we can on the gas stove or outside on the grill. It’s like an all-day buffet.” However, cleanup is going to remain a challenge.
According to Seapal, due to the widespread power outages, only 6 of its 41 supply sources were functioning as of October 11, leaving 70% of the city without drinking water supply service. Today, Seapal continues to work with CFE (the electric company) to restore services. While drinking water is all-important, Seapal first focused on sewage, and their efforts paid off as there was no black water run off.
To add to the frustrations of no electricity or water, Lidia also generated a serious impact on communications, leaving thousands of residents and tourists incommunicado, due to lack of cellular and landline telephone services. Telmex has called in technicians from outlying areas to get people connected again.
At this point, patience is a virtue for those living in or visiting the greater Banderas Bay area. Crews are working as fast as they can to get everything back up and running.