Hurricane Emily

[crazyduck]

This is a series of things from the scubaboard under the Mexico section.

First this is a link to where Emily came ashore. (Awesome)
http://cozumeldivemap.com/emily.html

Apparently, they moved - the ferries to in Isla Mujeres do not know if they are back yet.

As of 08:29 AM this morning-
I just got off the phone with Yolanda owner of Yucatek Diving in Playa del Carmen - LOTS of info!!!!!
First - she says Playa is not pretty - BUT it is NOT as bad as the pictures on interent!!! They got electricity back last night - WOO HOO!!! (Hopefully Coz can too!!!)
There is inbound flights to Cancun and THERE IS bus service to Playa!!! They finished clearing the road to playa yesterday!!! Her godson arrived last night - NO PROBLEM!!!!!
Now - STILL NO FERRIES TO COZ - because the "sea was very angry yesterday" according to Yolanda (she is a WONDERFUL person - if you know her you can almost hear her saying those words!)
She says the sea & wind have settled dramatically - hopefully ferries today! I will call her tonight again to find out.
The road heading south out of Playa was still closed yesterday to cars - so they walked to Puerto Aventuras to check on their boats - ALL their boats were fine!!!! She says 90% of all the boats she saw were fine & 10% had some damage. P. Aventuras (and further south of course) was hit harder than them, but still it is not wiped off the map like everyone is thinking!!!!!!
More news to come.......... Member report by “Photcoz.”


This press release just out from the Cozumel Hotel Association, as posted on www.divenewswire.com:
Cozumel Recovers Quickly from Hurricane Emily
On-site reports from Cozumel Hotel Association indicate resort destination is recovering quickly from recent storm.

July 19, 2005 (1:30 PM) Cozumel is quickly recovering from the effects of Hurricane Emily, which moved through the island early Monday morning (July 18).

According to Gaston Cantarell Diaz, president of the Cozumel Hotel Association, Cozumel sustained minimal damage and everyone on island weathered the storm safely.

"Cozumel is doing well and operating as normal today. The airport is open and ferry services are up and running again," he said. "Although there was some damage to hotels and other local properties, the important thing is that everyone remained safe throughout the storm."

Current updates from the island:

The Cozumel airport reopened on Monday, July 18, at 1:00 p.m. CST

Ferry services began operating again at 7:00 a.m. this morning (Tuesday, July 19)

Cozumel hotels and resorts are currently open and operating and are expected to complete hurricane related repairs by next Monday, July 25.

Currently the only hotel on island that will temporarily close due to damage from Hurricane Emily is the Iberostar Cozumel Hotel. Individuals with existing reservations at the Iberostar should contact the hotel for further information.

The majority of clean-up on island has been finished and the island roads are completely clear.
Downtown restaurants and shops are open.

To ensure the safety of visitors to the island, approximately 1,200 tourists were evacuated to the Cozumel Convention Center on Sunday evening (July 17) where they rode at the storm. Guests at hotels equipped with safety facilities were moved to on-site shelters.

Tourists began returning to their hotels and resorts early Monday. Guests whose hotels sustained damage by the hurricane were accommodated at alternate hotels and resorts.

[Cindy]

I emailed Simon and asked him to check on the landowners, families and the resorts for us. He said the roads were pretty bad but he would do what he could. Also his computer is iffy so it may be a while before we hear much. I'm just happy no deaths are reported in that area. (Puerto Avenures) Cindy

[Bill Rotella]

Any word on my friend German Yanez Mendoza with Yucatech Expeditions based in Cozumel would very much be appreciated.

Bill Rotella