Mahahual, Quintana Roo ...after Dean
What happens when the eye of a category 5 hurricane hits a thin flat strip of sand backed by mangroves? That's what hurricane Dean did on August 21, 2007 and it wiped out the town of Mahahual.
This is the only gas station as it looks today. We bought gas there, you just drive around the chunks of metal.
Forty foot storm waves washed over the entire area, pushing up under the concrete pier built for cruise ships and breaking it into chunks and throwing them far inland.
But for me, the most devastating view was the endless vista of dead mangrove. The storm surge went miles inland and the salt killed the mangroves. I suppose they will come back, everything down here seems to rejuvenate, but I have no idea how long it will take. Meanwhile these miles of dead branches are haunting.
Most buildings were stripped of everything but some of their concrete block wall, those that were not built of concrete are just gone. Everyone lost a lot, many lost everything.
This is a current view of the main street in town.
Mimi and I drove up the coast past the turn off to Mahahual a few weeks after Dean and we could see the flattened jungle but we didn't go over to the coast. There was a lot of damage even up in Akumal, a hundred miles north. Our friends Kathy and Jaime and their kids brought food down and told us how bad it was but I don't think I could imagine it until I saw how destroyed it still is over 4 months later.
There is a lot of construction going on, they are rebuilding the town including a boardwalk along the ocean with newly planted palm trees and a buried retention wall.
It's clear that this is (and was) set to be the next big resort on this coast. Some are saying that Dean taught them not to depend solely on the cruise ships and there are hotels and resorts being built now as well.
It was around 8 years ago that Mimi and I were last in Mahahual, we were on our way to Xcalak and it was before they built the road that bypasses this town and heads south. At that time, there was a military base and about a block of run down houses. Once they built the road, we bypassed it on 2 other trips to Xcalak. So, I missed it during its recent moment of change into a cruise ship port and tourist destination. I never saw the during but I've seen the before and after.
Of course, I prefer the before and I could be one of those who bemoan the commercialization of what was an isolated and in some ways idyllic spot.
I know though, that I wasn't living in a rickety house on stilts with no schools for my kids and no doctor or store or hope that the future would bring anything better. I hope that the new Mahahual will be beautiful and that it will bring hope and prosperity to people living there. Other than that, I'm really glad I don't live there.
What happens when the eye of a category 5 hurricane hits a thin flat strip of sand backed by mangroves? That's what hurricane Dean did on August 21, 2007 and it wiped out the town of Mahahual. This is the only gas station as it looks today. We bought gas there, you just drive around the chunks of metal.
Forty foot storm waves washed over the entire area, pushing up under the concrete pier built for cruise ships and breaking it into chunks and throwing them far inland.But for me, the most devastating view was the endless vista of dead mangrove. The storm surge went miles inland and the salt killed the mangroves. I suppose they will come back, everything down here seems to rejuvenate, but I have no idea how long it will take. Meanwhile these miles of dead branches are haunting.
Most buildings were stripped of everything but some of their concrete block wall, those that were not built of concrete are just gone. Everyone lost a lot, many lost everything. This is a current view of the main street in town.
Mimi and I drove up the coast past the turn off to Mahahual a few weeks after Dean and we could see the flattened jungle but we didn't go over to the coast. There was a lot of damage even up in Akumal, a hundred miles north. Our friends Kathy and Jaime and their kids brought food down and told us how bad it was but I don't think I could imagine it until I saw how destroyed it still is over 4 months later.
There is a lot of construction going on, they are rebuilding the town including a boardwalk along the ocean with newly planted palm trees and a buried retention wall. It's clear that this is (and was) set to be the next big resort on this coast. Some are saying that Dean taught them not to depend solely on the cruise ships and there are hotels and resorts being built now as well.
It was around 8 years ago that Mimi and I were last in Mahahual, we were on our way to Xcalak and it was before they built the road that bypasses this town and heads south. At that time, there was a military base and about a block of run down houses. Once they built the road, we bypassed it on 2 other trips to Xcalak. So, I missed it during its recent moment of change into a cruise ship port and tourist destination. I never saw the during but I've seen the before and after.
Of course, I prefer the before and I could be one of those who bemoan the commercialization of what was an isolated and in some ways idyllic spot. I know though, that I wasn't living in a rickety house on stilts with no schools for my kids and no doctor or store or hope that the future would bring anything better. I hope that the new Mahahual will be beautiful and that it will bring hope and prosperity to people living there. Other than that, I'm really glad I don't live there.
posted by Jonna at 1:34 AM
1 Comments:
What happened in Majahual was absolutely devastating, and absolutely life-changing for me. I have an arsenal of photos taken during the Playa del Carmen relief effort, some of which are on my site.
I haven't been back in a couple of months and can see, from your photos, it's time for me to go back. Thank you for posting them.
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