Posted on 10/27/2005 9:26:14 PM PDT by blam
Wilma May Be Mexico's Costliest Disaster
Friday October 28, 2005 4:31 AM
By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press Writer
ISLA MUJERES, Mexico (AP) - Mexico's Caribbean coastline took a beating from Hurricane Wilma, but the resort area's islands - famous for their diving and snorkeling - bore the brunt of the storm, with extensive damage to reefs and white-sand beaches.
Mexican insurance companies said Thursday that Wilma was likely to be the country's most costly disaster ever, with payments topping the $1.2 billion the industry dished out for 1988's Hurricane Gilbert.
A U.S. cruise ship was sent Thursday to the island of Cozumel to deliver aid and pick up any remaining stranded Americans, but most tourists appeared to have left the islands.
Even in Cancun, lines at makeshift airline ticket counters had nearly vanished, and there were only a few visitors enjoying the sun before heading home.
Mexican President Vicente Fox arrived in Cancun to discuss his plan to have 80 percent of the resort up and running by Dec. 15.
Fox bid farewell to departing tourists with the words ``see you again soon,'' and then turned his attention to the local population, asking hotel owners not to lay off Cancun residents who rely on tourism for their livelihood.
``I'm asking you for zero unemployment,'' Fox said in a meeting with hotel operators. ``I'm asking you not fire anyone, to keep them in their regular positions or use them in rebuilding.''
The U.S. Embassy announced an extra $300,000 in aid for Wilma's victims.
``The recent natural disasters that have devastated parts of the United States and Mexico strengthened the cooperation and determination of our countries and governments to work together,'' said U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza.
Yet, despite the signs of progress, many residents were left behind. On Isla Mujeres, people complained of limited access to drinking water and homes destroyed by high winds, waves and flooding.
Mexico's Environmental Department said Wilma ripped into coral reefs and damaged more than 1 million acres of trees on the Yucatan peninsula, creating fuel for possible forest fires in the upcoming dry season.
On Isla Mujeres, the surf dragged sand from the public beach across much of the island, blocking streets and filling homes and businesses with the snowy white grains.
Sailors shoveled the sand into 6-foot piles Thursday in an attempt to rescue one of the region's greatest assets - brochures brag that the Mexican Caribbean's sugar-white beaches don't get hot in the sun.
In a sign that the tourism industry may be slow to recover, hotels were boarded up and there were no signs of reconstruction - unlike in Cancun, where bulldozers are already clearing debris.
Hundreds waited in line with plastic jugs, hoping to get drinking water brought in by ferries. Helicopters flew in more aid, taking off from Cancun's bullring.
Fishermen on Isla Mujeres, north of Cozumel, said the storm scared away the fish. No sea life could be seen in the water near one shallow reef just offshore.
``The people here fish,'' said Jose Sanchez, a 61-year-old fisherman. ``But now there aren't fish, so we don't do anything.''
The storm put Marielle Hendriksen, a Netherlands native who has lived on the island for nearly five years, out of work. Her dive shop has closed until it can repair a dock that was blown away by Wilma's wind and waves.
But she said she was happy to see officials recovering the beaches' sand.
``It will take a lot of work and a lot of time, but some of the beaches can be recovered,'' she said.
Hendriksen was one of the few on the island who said they had received handouts of rice, beans and sugar. Many others complained they weren't getting bottled water or food, and a group of about 30 people were planning a protest.
The island's senior center was filled to the ceiling with bottled water and some food, but residents said local officials weren't distributing it.
Vivian Aurora, 41, said she hadn't received anything for days and only has a bit of rice, beans and dried fish for her three children.
Flor Maria Chavez, 52, got up before dawn to wait for the ferry to bring water.
``There isn't any water until the ferry brings the jugs,'' she said. ``We don't have anything to drink.''
In related news, Mexican illegal immigration continues to be the United States' costliest disaster.
No the Mexican government is their costliest disaster. Wilma was their costliest NATURAL disaster.AWB
"Wilma May be Mexico's Costliest Disaster."
I would bet on Vicente Fox, personally.
Their costliest disaster is yet to come if they keep exporting population in this direction.
Grab 4 ten foot long two by fours and four ten foot long two by tens out of the rubble piles.
Nail the two by tens together to form a wide flat box, laying on the ground.
Cover it with black visqueen and fill it with sea water.
Nail the two by fours together, and staple clear visqueen to them such that it lops over the edges a foot or so. Make sure it's taut.
Use four one or two foot two by fours out of the rubble piles for corner posts and suspend the clear plastic and frame over the tub of seawater, on a slant, so that one corner is lower than the other three.
Put a bucket under the low corner, and make sure that the floppy sides of the clear visqueen keep the breeze from stealing your moisture laden air from above the tank.
There's water for four people, indefinitely.
If you stand there and watch it work for about ten minutes, you can come up with ideas for improvements that will increase the efficiency tenfold.
Now, once you start rebuilding, put some of the tax money collected from the hundreds of billions of dollars the resorts have raked in over decades into an account to pay for the next inevitable storm that comes along, and don't spend it on other projects, "necessary" or not.
There you go, Mexico, all the "aid" you need.
get busy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.