La Paz Mexico Travels: Hurricane Norbert to hit Baja California, flooding expected; ADDS more

Biyernes, Setyembre 25, 2015

Hurricane Norbert to hit Baja California, flooding expected; ADDS more

1. Various of boats at the docks under heavy rain
2. Waves crashing against dock
3. Tops of palm trees being battered by strong winds and heavy rain
4. Various of partially flooded town centre
5. Wide of vehicle driving through floodwaters
6. Various of people looking for shelter
7. Palm trees being blown by wind
8. Various of homes sodden by rain
9. Wide of homes, doll hanging from a tree, blowing in the wind
10. Mother and her two children seeking refuge at a more solid house
11. Close-up of boy’s face
12. Tops of palm trees in the town centre being blown by wind
13. Wide of driving rain and wind blowing trees
14. Close-up of tree tops being blown by wind
15. Families walking into a group shelter, carrying their belongings
16. Mid of family walking past a relief worker inside the shelter
17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Maria Espinosa, resident of San Carlos:
“We came and we left our homes because the houses were pretty flimsy. The wind is going to blow them away, the water levels are already rising up.”
18. Soldiers helping storm victims inside shelter to obtain bedding and blankets
STORYLINE:
Scores of Mexicans fled flooded homes and took refuge in emergency centres on Saturday as Hurricane Norbert lashed Mexico’s southern Baja California peninsula with torrential rains and powerful winds.
Norbert, a Category 2 storm with winds of up to 105 miles per hour (165 kilometres per hour), hit land near Puerto Charley on the southwest coast of Baja California, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
It was expected to sweep across a sparsely populated stretch of the peninsula, and then make landfall again on Saturday night in the northwest of Mexico’s mainland.
Forecasters from the Hurricane Centre could not confirm whether it would reach hurricane force by then.
In the town of Puerto San Carlos, the roads were flooded in knee-deep water and winds battered palm trees.
Many people flocked to shelters in the face of the storm.
Puerto San Carlos resident Maria Espinosa said people left their homes because of worries their houses were going to be blown away.
Flooding in Acapulco forced officials to cancel classes at schools.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the west coast of Baja California from Puerto San Andresito to Agua Blanca.
The government also issued hurricane warnings along the coast of the border state of Sonora and on the east coast of the Baja peninsula from near La Paz north to Loreto.
As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), the hurricane’s centre was located about 45 miles (70 kilometres) south of Cabo San Lazaro, Mexico, and was moving north-northeast at 15 mph (24 kph).
Civil Protection officials in Guerrero state urged about 10-thousand people living along river banks or other dangerous areas to evacuate.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Odile hugged the southwest coast of Mexico.
Odile was located about 60 miles (100 kilometres) southwest of Zihuatenejo, a resort town north of Acapulco and was moving northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph).
Odile could become a hurricane, and a small deviation from its path could bring the storm inland, the hurricane centre said.
A hurricane watch was in effect from Manzanillo to Zihuatanejo, a resort town north of Acapulco.
A tropical storm warning was in effect from Tecpan de Galeana to Manzanillo, as Odile moved parallel to the Pacific coast with winds of about 65 mph (100 kph).