Hurricane Odile Thrashes Baja's Los Cabos Beach Resorts, Sparks Looting Reuters
go to original September 15, 2014

Holiday from hell: Tourists sit on the concrete stairs in the service area of a resort after the designated area for shelter was destroyed by winds in Los Cabos, Mexico on Monday. (Associated Press)

Associated Press Update: Mexico's government said late Monday night that army and commercial planes would be sent to La Paz and Los Cabos airports to ferry out some of the tens of thousands of tourists stranded in temporary shelters in hotels. Los Cabos international airport was damaged by the storm.

CABO SAN LUCAS - Hurricane Odile whipped through the beach resorts of Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Monday, causing chaos as it uprooted trees, downed power lines and smashed shop windows, sparking looting.

Fierce winds buffeted homes, hotels and businesses as one of the worst storms ever to hit the luxury retreats of Los Cabos battered Mexico's northwest coast with heavy rains.

Odile has weakened from a category four to category one hurricane since Sunday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it would likely cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides on the northwestern coast in the next day or two.

Odile, which was blowing sustained winds of 90 mph (145 km/h), knocked out San Jose del Cabo's international airport, but flights might restart later Monday, authorities said.

"The whole place is devastated, San José del Cabo, windows are trashed, trees and electricity poles are down," said Mauricio Balderrama, manager of the Cabo Surf Hotel and Spa. All of the hotel's guests were unharmed, he added.

There were no initial reports of fatalities from Odile, which tore down water tanks, air conditioning units and smashed shop fronts across Cabo San Lucas, which sparked looting.

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