Huricane Jimena Relief Efforts in Lopez Mateos

I just found this webpage documenting recovery efforts in Lopez Mateos.

Hurricane Jimena Crisis Report Site

Recovery efforts in the Bahia Magdalena Region

I am forwarding the following message from ProPenisula. This group has done much great conservation work in the Bahía Magdalena region and is worthy of your support.

Your Help is Needed to Rebuild Baja Sea Turtle Communities Destroyed by Hurricane Jimena

Last Monday Hurricane Jimena slammed into the Bahía Magdalena region of the Baja California peninsula. There were no fatalities, but the majority of homes and infrastructure in the region were destroyed or severely damaged.

The Bahía Magdalena region is critical for sea turtle conservation as a hotspot for both loggerhead and black sea turtles. Conservation heroes from the communities of San Carlos, Puerto Magdalena, Puerto López Mateos, and San Lázaro have been our conservation partners for many years and have made great progress in protecting sea turtles. Many of these friends and their families lost their homes to Hurricane Jimena and they now need our help.

Victor de la Toba, lighthouse keeper of Cabo San Lazaro, and veritable loggerhead conservation hero, hunkered down with his wife Maricel and their children in their home in Lopez Mateos during Hurricane Jimena. Soon after the hurricane’s eye passed their roof was torn off – while they were inside. They took refuge in the Proyecto Caguama research station for the rest of the storm and came away unscathed. Their house, though still standing, is unlivable.

Julio Solís, a local fisherman who founded and now directs Magdalena Baykeeper in San Carlos, and his family have also been uprooted. Two thirds of Julio’s home was torn apart when Jimena made landfall.

A new roof for Victor costs $500. Rebuilding Julio’s house will cost $2,000. Our target is to swiftly raise funds to help these and other families rebuild their lives.

You can help by making a tax-deductible donation to the Pro Peninsula Fund at The Ocean Foundation today. Click here

and please note ‘Hurricane Fund’ in the comments section of the donation form. If you would like the funds to go to any family in particular please contact us directly.

Many thanks,
Mark Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
Kama Dean, Program Officer, Pro Peninsula Fund at The Ocean Foundation
Aarón Esliman,Executive Director, Grupo Tortuguero
Hoyt Peckham, Director, Proyecto Caguama
Wallace J. Nichols, Co-Director, Ocean Revolution

More information on Hurricane Jimena and the destruction:
http://www.mexidata.info/id2402.html
http://www.oem.com.mx/elmexicano/notas/n1310350.htm

Please note: all funds raised will go to Jimena relief for families in affected areas.

Jimena Relief Efforts

There are a lot of photos and other information on Jimena's damage out there on the web but I did want to share a few things.

EcoMujeres in Mulege supports a bunch of good projects but my favorite is EcoAmigos kids group. They have posted a good summary of the hurricane's imapcts on Mulege and a how you can help page.

J Nichols has a first hand report from Puerto Lopez Mateos from Chris Pesenti and Chuy Lucero on his blog.

This video shot along the Malecon in Loreto shows the force of the hurricane. Note that these waves are only from the outer bands of the hurricane and Loreto is relatively protected by the islands.

Jimena's Aftermath

This satellite image taken as Hurricane Jimena passed over Mulege says it all. On the Pacific side Puerto San Carlos and Puerto Lopez Mateos were badly damaged with many homes destroyed. Some reports say as many as 90% of the buildings in Puerto Lopez Mateos were destroyed. For the thrid time in four years Mulege is badly damaged by flooding from a hurricane with a "J" name (John in 2006, Julietta in 2008, and now Jimena in 2009). Santa Rosalia is also badly damaged.

Tropical Storm Lowell

Although it is dying fast over the relatively cool Pacific waters, Tropical Storm Lowell appears to be headed straight for Magdelena Bay. The region is just drying out from Tropical Storm Julio and could really use a break. Stay out of the arroyos for the next few days and be prepared!

More on Tropical Storm Julio

Although this is a fly fishing blog I am posting information on the damage caused by Tropical Storm Julio to keep Baja lovers informed what is happening to the great people who live here and to let anglers know that they should be prepared for tropical weather from late August to the middle of October.

The good news is that Loreto appears to be bouncing back quickly with little more than a few sunk pangas at the marina. The kids returned to school today and clean up has begun on the beaches. During storms like this one, every piece of trash in the arroyos gets washed out to sea. Much of it ends up on the beach. The muddy trash strewn water tends to shut down fishing for a few days until the water clears. After that the remaining trees and other debris floating around can hold a lot of dorado and the fishing can really turn on.

The bad news is Mulege, Ciudad Constitution, and Ciudad Insurgentes were hit hard. The river in Mulege flooded badly with water levels approaching the flood following Hurricane John in 2006. El Sud Californiano reports that 120 Mexican and 200 foreigners homes were damaged by the flooding.

This picture of the river in Mulege was on the front page of today's El Sud Californiano.

Ciudad Insurgentes was flooded badly and according to the paper over 500 families lost their homes with widespread damage as you can see in the photo from the Sud Californiano below.

Puerto Lopez Mateos and San Juanico are inaccessible by road and I assume that many other of the more remote areas may be inaccessible for a while.

Tropical Storm Julio's Aftermath

This photo from El Sud Californiano shows fishermen from Lopez Mateos using their boat to rescue flood victims in Ciudad Insugentes.

It looks like TS Julio followed the path predicted by the National Weather Service. Early reports from El Sud Californiano indicate that there was no major wind damage and most of the heavy rains and flooding was in the municipio of Comondú. From the photos in the paper it appears that there is serious flooding in Ciudad Insurgentes and Ciudad Constitución.

The arroyo in Mulege flooded badly again damaging many houses along the "river" and a soldier was killed there when his Hummer was swept away while crossing an arroyo. The Sud Californiano reports that there are 39 interuptions to the highway between Cuidad Consitution and Santa Rosalia - I'm not sure what that means but the road is likely impassable at least until the arroyos stop running.

Lopez Mateos Sea Turtle Festival

The annual Sea Turtle Festival in Puerto Lopez Mateos starts Friday, August 15th. Hosted by ProCaguama the Sea Turtle Festival features many traditional and non-traditional fiesta activities and is always a good time. The queen is selected based on the success of her clean up campaign - the winner typically collects over a ton of trash from local beaches! The festival mixes music, food, and fun while spreading a conservation message to thousands. This is an event worth supporting.

In many cases efforts to protect turtles will also result in improved fisheries. In the Magedelena Bay region and other parts of Baja California, Conservation Tourism is a growing industry with gray whales in the bay from January to March and great opportunties to observe loggerhead and other species of turtles.

For information on turtle trips check out See Turtles.

VI Festival de la Caguama en Puerto Adolfo López Mateos

El Sudcaliforniano
12 de agosto de 2008
Arturo R. Corona

Ciudad Constitución, Baja California Sur.- Será el próximo viernes 15 de agosto cuando inicie el VI Festival Internacional de la Caguama en Puerto Adolfo López Mateos. Lo anterior lo dieron a conocer integrantes del grupo ecologista de Conservación Pro Caguama de origen extranjero que opera en esa región del pacífico.

Cabe mencionar que desde el año del 2003 el Grupo de Conservación de Procaguama, junto con las autoridades de la Delegación Municipal de Puerto Adolfo López Mateos, comenzaron a celebrar la existencia de este lugar único en el planeta donde se concentra la tortuga amarilla, antes de iniciar su migración a las aguas de Japón, donde anida.

Esta especie de tortuga marina se encuentra altamente amenazada de extinción, por lo que la comunidad de López Mateos, junto con otras comunidades de la costa de la península de Baja California trabajan coordinando esfuerzos desde el 2003 para revertir esta situación.

Por su rol ecológico y su valor cultural, la tortuga amarilla constituye un tesoro que debemos conservar. El viernes 15 de agosto se iniciará el festival con un desfile o gallo, donde se presentarán la reina de la Caguama Gisselle I y la princesa Cristel. Además, las Borargas de tortugas amarilla, golfina y laud también estarán presentes.

El desfile terminará en el muelle del Carapacho, donde se presentará un grupo de música local y se realizará un baile de inauguración. Las actividades deportivas comenzarán temprano en la mañana del sábado 16 y el templete abrirá a las 7 de la tarde con la banda Los Intensos de Sinaloa, en el Muelle del Faro.

Habrá diversos números artísticos, entregas de premios y reconocimientos y el cierre estará a cargo de "Los Grandes del Pardito". El delegado de López Mateos, Diego Ivan De La Toba, participará en el evento y también se espera la llegada del presidente municipal y del gobernador para el cierre del evento.