Four days after Hurricane Odile roared ashore in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the situation on the ground is getting increasingly desperate.
Tourists are returning home to Vancouver with horror stories of destroyed hotels, a badly damaged airport and widespread looting.
“Most of our hotel was flooded, rooms were flooding, windows blown right out and then the looting started and fear for your life,” says B.C. resident Kelly Stein.
He returned from Cabo Wednesday night on a Sunwing flight, one of about 200 people who returned last night.
Looting was widespread even with local military and police stepping in.
“When they hit the Walmart, the police tried to stop them and then said, okay, just the food, put the TV down and put the computer down,” says Stein. “It was very scary.”
“We picked up some peanuts, some chips, and four one litre bottles of water — that cost $82 USD.”
Stein barricaded his hotel room door after power was knocked out and most of the hotel staff left the property.
It’s unclear how many Canadians are still stuck in the Los Cabos area.
The Canadian government is working to contact them.
Travel experts say it’s another reminder of why it’s important to prepare for potential disasters while traveling.
“For the next little while, I would encourage people to change their plans,” says Claire Newell. “I am going during Christmas and I have no intention of changing my plans — I expect what they are going to need more than anything is tourists.”
As more pictures and video surface from the Hurricane hit area, it’s clear the damage is much worse than first thought.
While much of the focus has been on getting tourists out of Los Cabos, the devastation has also wiped out the homes of many local residents.
— with files from Jill Bennett, Global News
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