Gilberto Carlos was preparing on Wednesday afternoon for the imminent arrival of the storms that precede the impact of the hurricane Beryl in Quintana Roo, the tourist enclave located in the southeast of Mexico. Gilberto, 36, was closely following the news in Cancun, the tourist city par excellence of this paradise region, and was filling his car with gasoline in anticipation of a possible fuel shortage. He said he has followed the recommendations of friends and has stocked up on canned goods and water, mainly after the decision of the state governor, Mara Lezamato declare a yellow alert, which means “moderate danger” in this State where the hurricane is expected to hit after the destruction caused in Jamaica. “For now everything is normal, but we don’t know what can happen after Thursday,” said Gilberto. Governor Lezama has asked the population to identify temporary shelters, stock up on food and water and pay attention to official information. “It is time to have the emergency backpack ready,” warned the head of Government.
On Wednesday, the hotel areas of Cancun continued to operate normally. Gilberto Carlos took advantage of the low attendance at the gym where he works as a trainer to take a walk along the beach, where tourists were enjoying cocktails and cold beers despite the red flags warning of a slightly choppy sea and a sky on the horizon that was so dark and grey that it was worrying. The man said that since Wednesday there has been little attendance at his gym, which he relates to the imminent arrival of Beryl“I think people are preparing for the storm,” he said. At some of the beachfront hotels, workers were clearing away umbrellas and hammocks, but the feeling was calm. At Playa Marlin, a spot of breathtaking turquoise blue, American tourists were diving into the sea foam without much concern for the yellow alert. Local authorities estimate that hotel capacity remains at 70%, in the middle of the peak summer holiday season.
As of Wednesday, Cancun’s international airport was operating normally. Several travelers interviewed said there had been no cancellations of their flights, although some had experienced delays, but they attributed these to airline problems rather than the weather forecast. Jose, an employee of a transport company at the airport, said tourists continue to arrive despite the threat of Beryl“We have not yet been informed of any changes to flights or emergency measures. Everything is normal here,” the man said. “We have been through this several times, with many hurricanes, and for us it is normal. Everything will be fine, although we expect a lot of rain,” he added. José said he remembered the impact of the hurricane. Wilmawhich in 2005 caused havoc in the Yucatan Peninsula. “I was affected and it was very bad. Here at the airport trees fell and they had to close it. We spent many days without work,” said this man who has been working in the airport area for many years.
Maria, one of the travelers who landed at Cancun airport on Wednesday, did not hide her nerves. She recalled that in 2005 she traveled to this city two days before the impact of Wilma and that catastrophe is still fresh in his memory. On that occasion, he also came to the city to visit his family for the summer holidays, as he does now. “It was devastating, it destroyed Cancun, the entire hotel zone. It was very ugly, because there were no provisions and people looted the stores. They took everything, screens, stoves, refrigerators. Small stores also suffered. There was a shortage of food. We learned that SEDENA [Secretaría de Defensa] She sent food supplies, but they never arrived. We had money to buy them, but there was nothing. No water, no tortillas, no eggs. We survived with the little we had at home,” she said. She was worried that the same story would repeat itself. “I just landed and I see the weather is very hot and that scares me. Everyone is going crazy, but let’s hope this hurricane is not as strong. We don’t know how intense it will be, but let’s hope it is less,” said the woman. Maria said that her relatives’ neighbors have stocked up on food and bought wood to cover the windows and doors of their houses. “We hope it passes as quickly as possible,” she said before getting into her taxi to the city center.
The State Civil Protection Coordination of Quintana Roo reported that the center of the hurricane, a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, was located at the end of Wednesday afternoon 1,050 kilometers southeast of Cancun, with maximum sustained winds of 220 kilometers per hour and gusts of 270 kilometers per hour. The cyclone was moving at 31 kilometers per hour. “At the moment, the system does not affect national coasts, however, a hurricane prevention zone remains from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun. It is expected that starting on Thursday, the cloud bands of Beryl cause intense and sometimes torrential rains, strong gusts of wind and high waves in the Yucatan Peninsula,” the agency reported.
Fear of the storm is felt throughout the peninsula. Oscar, a biologist who works in a hospital in Cancun but lives in Puerto Morelos, about 30 kilometers south of the tourist city, said that his neighbors have made “panic purchases” in anticipation of the arrival of the hurricane. “This hasn’t happened for a while. People are very nervous. I think they still haven’t gotten over the shock of the pandemic and that’s why they choose to anticipate what might happen,” he said. Oscar is still fresh in his mind about the catastrophe in Acapulco, hit by Otis, the Category 5 hurricane that made landfall on October 25, 2023 and left a trail of destruction and death. “We have been told that there is nothing to fear, but it is scary to think that something like what happened in Acapulco could happen,” said the biologist.
While authorities in Quintana Roo were organizing shelters and taking preventive measures, in neighboring Yucatan the state government was keeping a close watch on the hurricane’s evolution. María Fritz Sierra, head of the General Secretariat of Government, said that all state agencies are alert to the possible impact of the storm. Local authorities have their eyes set on Thursday night, when they estimate that the hurricane will make landfall in Mexican territory. The government has set up an Emergency Committee in Merida, the capital, to identify what it considers to be municipalities located in a risk zone. Mauricio Vila, the state governor, has asked the population to “check the condition of doors, windows and roofs. Have a radio, lamp, spare batteries and first aid kit on hand. Store a supply of basic non-perishable food and water for at least four days.”
The hurricane Beryl The hurricane hit Jamaica with fury as it made its way through the Caribbean. For that Caribbean island, it was the strongest cyclone recorded in a decade. So far, the storm has left at least seven dead in the region, vulnerable to this type of phenomenon, which is becoming increasingly violent due to the consequences of climate change. Although the inhabitants of Quintana Roo hoped on Wednesday that the storm would diminish in intensity, meteorologists cannot predict exactly how the cyclone will develop once it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula. For the moment, hotels have taken precautions. At Xcaret, a luxury enclave in the Riviera Maya, the management distributed a notice in all rooms “inviting” its guests to plan early departures. The hotel expected on Wednesday that the impact of the storm would occur just 70 kilometers from its facilities, with “torrential rains and high-speed winds.” On Wednesday morning, dozens of guests waited with their bags packed to be transferred to the Cancun airport to escape the fury of Beryl.
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