Emily Damage Reports

[alicia-w]

http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/mexico.shtml

[sweetpea]

Got this from a cruise website, this is someone who lives on Cozumel

We're OK!

Quite the ride, but evryone's cleaning up. Took a ride tothe other side and bad news....Coconuts, Mezcalito's and Bob Marley(Paradise Cafe) are basically gone. I saw BM's personally and it is wiped out, couldnt get to the other ones but friends in a 4X4 coming the other way told me they were gone.
PB took a beating (Palapa damage) as well as Playa Mia (the huge palapa-GONE!), Nachi-s little palapas are 75% damaged and they lost a lot of beach, as did evryone I guess.

We're all rebuilding and will \be ready to go soon. I havent read any other posts or threads...gotta save my battery!

Thanx for the wishes, Cozumel is strong and has great people already working furiously to get everything back up and running.... talked to the Port Captain and he says the 3 piers are structurally sound and ready to receive ships...

Weather-mostly cloudy no rain sunny breaks now and pretty breezy with light gusts....beautiful! Flooding was minimal, I guess we didnt get dumped on much....

Hasta la vista! OH, radio says hurricane hit between Tulm and Cozumel...anyone have any details? I'll post later tonite...
__________________
Tom at
Paradise Beach

[Normandy]

So Cozumel didnt come unscathed like some suggested.

[lisa0825]

I saw that note too. They are on the westside. I read that the east side beach bars got blown away, and Iberostar on the south side sustained heavy damage. I also read that one of the parks on the south side was badly damaged, but I forget if it was Chankanaab or or one of the beachclubs.

[lisa0825]

So Cozumel didnt come unscathed like some suggested.

give me a friggin' break. I was saying that Cozumel would not be FLATTENED as some were saying, and that some areas would be be worse than others.

edited to add: I guess some folks prefer to post unwarranted inflammatory rumors, rather than give actual info from residents of the island.

[Mac]

Although Cozumel obviously sustained some damage, I think some people are just a bit surprised by the limited damage being reported.

From the NHC:

Category Two Hurricane:
Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the North Carolina coast, while Hurricane Georges of 1998 was a Category Two Hurricane when it hit the Florida Keys and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.


Category Three Hurricane:
Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Roxanne of 1995 and Fran of 1996 were Category Three hurricanes at landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and in North Carolina, respectively.


Category Four Hurricane:
Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Luis of 1995 was a Category Four hurricane while moving over the Leeward Islands. Hurricanes Felix and Opal of 1995 also reached Category Four status at peak intensity.

The winds were reported as Category 4 at landfall. Yet we're seeing--thus far--primarily Category 2 damage reports. It's welcome news, albeit a little confusing. And it raises some questions.

[Derecho]

So Cozumel didnt come unscathed like some suggested.

It wasn't "leveled" either, as a prominent board member speculated (and managed to embarass S2K in doing so.)

[hicksta]

poor mexico