All watches and warnings have been discontinued.
A bright sunny morning greats Baja Sur today as clean up from what many are
calling a 'Hurricane with Training Wheels'.
Henriette was just barely a Category 1 Hurricane.
Washouts of some roads, localized flooding and damage to homes built in
arroyos did occur. A State of Disaster was declared by the governor to allow
the flow of Federal funds to repair and improve damaged infrastructure.
Local reports indicate one tourist died while
swimming on heavy surf in Los Cabos. Hwy 1 and 19 are open and repairs will
be ongoing through the weekend.
Read REAL reports from Insider Readers and post
your own reports on our Baja Blog.
Hurricane Henriette did not devastate Baja Sur. Contrary to
the splashy and irresponsible headlines on CNN, Fox, Bloomberg and other
alleged news services damage to Baja Sur was minimal.
In La Paz damage seemed to be limited to debris
in the street and a few downed trees. One large tree was blown down across
from Dorian's on 16th de Septembre. Most La Paz employees were given the day
off on Wednesday, cleanup should be complete by the weekend.
Highway 1 from Tijuana to Los Cabos is open,
although there are a few places to cross debris washed into the roadway and
a couple of vados that are still flowing. A little slower than usual but
passable is what was reported.
More below...
Hwy 19, the major route from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas through Todos Santos,
is open. Only minor issues reported.
Cabo San Lucas began cleanup on Wednesday. Most
of the hotels and resorts will be up to full speed by Friday. Sport fishing
resumed today, although the prospects may not be very good for a few days.
Charters, jet ski rentals and the like are back to normal. Power is still
sketchy in some places in Cabo, including our offices.
Puerto Los Cabos is reported to be temporarily
an island. We will have video on this as soon as our power is restored.
As the storm passed north there are some
washouts and vados to cross between La Paz and Loreto, but the road is open.
Drivers should be aware of debris in the road and rocks that could still be
falling as a result of being loosened by the heavy rains.
In Escondido we have reports that several boats
were damaged in 'The Crescent'. We have unconfirmed reports that the locally
known boat "Moon Me" was heavily damaged./
Apparently the area known as "The Valley" near
Constitucion received enormous amounts of rain and had some low area
flooding, but much of that has dried up already.
This was a weak hurricane. Our
condolences of course to those who suffered losses, but as hurricanes
go, it was just barely. Baja has been fortunate over the years, only
one Category 3 hurricane has made landfall in Baja. For the most part,
this area is prepared for this kind of weather. Baja receives about
7-10" of rainfall per year. 73% of the years since 1949, that rainfall
has come in one major event. (Hurricane or Topical Storm)
The local and federal governments are on
top of the issue. They are aware the spot light of international press
is on them, particularly when it impacts a tourist destination.
Restoration of services and post storm clean-up is impressive, to say
the least.
Headlines in the local paper refer to
minor damage in the construction zone of El Centro and applaud the
changes in fiber optic cable in Santa Rosalia by Telmex for
maintaining communications during the storm. There were no fatalities
reported.
It is true, as reported in major press,
that the Governor of Baja Sur declared a state of natural disaster.
Like in the US, this is a technicality that allows federal monies to
flow to the state for reparation of infrastructure. Everywhere in Baja
Sur today people are busy picking up after some nasty weather.
It looks like the worst is over for much of
Baja Sur. Loreto north is still well within the circulation of tropical
storm force winds but this should diminish quickly through the day,
particularly once the storm moves inland on the mainland side.
No further forecast Insider updates will be
posted here. Automated information below will be
updated automatically until the storm dissipates..
Hurricane Henriette did not devastate Baja Sur. Contrary to
the splashy and irresponsible headlines on CNN, Fox, Bloomberg and other
alleged news services damage to Baja Sur was minimal. 
