Hurricane Jimena has grown into an extremely dangerous storm swirling toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, scaring off tourists and forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of reluctant, impoverished residents of shanty towns to temporary shelters. Police, firefighters and military personnel drove through shantytowns, trying to persuade some 10,000 people to evacuate shacks made of plastic sheeting, wood, reeds and even make-shift blanket tents. At last report, 12:00 universal time, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was 250 kilometers south of Cabo San Lucas, popularly known as Los Cabos, moving northwest. Jimena is expected to make landfall as early as Tuesday, bringing with it winds of 250 kilometers-per-hour. Its storm surge, along with battering waves, will likely produce significant coastal flooding along the Baja peninsula.
Much of Baja is sparsely populated desert and mountains that are popular with nature lovers, surfers, sports fishermen and retirees.
Los Cabos, which is a more built-up area, attracts tourists to its golf courses, resorts and beaches.
Jimena’s approach has already prompted the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to move an international meeting on tax havens from Los Cabos to Mexico City. The two-day talks open Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department has urged Americans to consider carefully the risks of travel to areas in Mexico that might be affected by the hurricane. A travel alert issued Monday said Americans in areas likely to be affected by Jimena and who do not have access to adequate and safe shelter should consider leaving while commercial flights are still available. U.S. officials say seating capacity on those flights may be extremely limited.
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Todos Santos is situated 50 miles south of La Paz and 46 miles north of Cabo San Lucas at the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna. The town looks to the Pacific Ocean among the greens of the rich farm crops, the palm groves, the mango and avocado trees and the canebrakes of the Valle del Pilar. Todos Santos was established as the site of the mission of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de La Paz, by father Jaime Bravo in 1723. It reached the status of mission with the name of Santa Rosa de Todos Santos, in honor of its benefactor, dona Rosa de la Pena.
