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Odile storm moves up Mexico coast

Written By blogger on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 | 9:05 AM

Tropical storm Odile is moving up Mexico's Baja California peninsula, bringing heavy rains and the threat of mudslides and flash floods.

Odile made landfall as a category three hurricane on Sunday night, damaging homes and leaving thousands of tourists stranded in the Los Cabos resort area.

Officials said 135 people had to be treated for minor injuries, mostly caused by flying glass and debris.

Some 30,000 tourists have been moved to emergency shelters.

Mexico's government said on Monday night that military and commercial aircraft would be sent to evacuate the tourists. The international airport at Los Cabos was damaged in the storm.

Forecasters expect the storm to continue weakening as it moves north-west.

Tourist at Hilton hotel, Los Cabos Several upmarket resorts were damaged by the storm
Aircraft damaged at the airport at Los Cabos High winds also wreaked havoc at Los Cabos international airport
Tourists line the stairs of a service area after their shelter was destroyed by winds in Los Cabos, Mexico Tourists in Los Cabos crammed into a stairwell after their shelter was destroyed by the storm

Hurricane Odile flooded streets in Los Cabos on Sunday night and Monday. Fierce winds ripped facades from hotels and destroyed many poorly constructed homes.

"In the seven years I've been here, I've never seen anything hit like this,'' Alejandro Tealdi, a 32-year-old resident of Cabo San Lucas told Associated Press news agency.

On Monday dozens of people, including children, ransacked the shops for batteries and alcohol until troops arrived to stop the looting, agencies reported.

The US National Hurricane Center in Miami had predicted that Odile would be a category four hurricane, but it lost strength as it reached the coast.

However, even as it moved north-west up the desert peninsula, the NHC warned of more heavy rainfall and flooding on the northwest coast.

At least 26,000 foreign tourists and 4,000 Mexicans were in the region, local officials said, and those in areas at risk of flooding were evacuated.

The region is home to massive resort complexes, as well as fishing communities and low-lying shanty towns.

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Odile storm moves up Mexico coast

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