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Cancun Staff of Medical News Today Evacuate before Wilma Hits

It is just after midnight, very early on a Thursday morning. One day before hurricane Wilma is expected to hit Cancun, where I am now.

For the last couple of days everyone in Cancun, and the state of Quintana Roo (where Cancun is) has been listening to radio and TV bulletins. On Tuesday morning Wilma was just a tropical storm. By the end of the day it had developed into a category 2 hurricane. During the night it became stronger. On Wednesday morning I woke up and checked on the internet to find the storm had progressed to a category 5.

Shall we stay here and sit it out or evacuate, move to some other part of the country? I kept the radio on for most of the day as news reports came in that Wilma was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in this part of the world.

I looked out of my office window and saw people busily boarding up their windows, clearing stuff that could blow around, municipal workers taking down traffic lights and covering public telephones with plastic lining. Others were pruning the beautiful palm trees of branches that may blow away in the wind.

By about two o’clock in the afternoon (Wednesday), we decided it would be best to book a flight to some other part of the country. My wife, Maria, rushed out and came back a few hours later with tickets to Monterrey - a city in the north of Mexico, inland, about a 2 hour drive from the Texan border.

We have two boys, aged 18 and 12. The twelve year old was excited about having to miss school, but also concerned about what the Cancun may look like when we come back on Sunday. My oldest son, who is studying at a university here, is both worried and also in awe of what is to come. We moved to Cancun at the beginning of the summer of this year. We immediately fell in love with the place. It’s fauna and flora are fascinating - like living in a giant wildlife park.

We hope and pray that Wilma will spare the people of Cancun and find a path towards the sea.

The authorities in Mexico have moved swiftly. At this moment their aim is to get at least half of the 30,000 tourists (this is the low season) out of the country by this evening. The hurricane is expected to hit sometime during Friday morning. The airport is going to be chock-a-block full. We will be there in a few hours’ time. I expect there will be crowds, frustrations, tired staff and many frightened faces.

On the radio just now the mayor of Cancun said that anyone who has the means should seriously consider moving to some other part of the country before the storm hits. He is currently inspecting the many shelters the local authorities are setting up for people who can’t get out - and there are many of them. The city has grown rapidly over the last three decades - it now has over half a million people.

The bulletins on radio and TV come in two languages, Spanish and Mayan. Many people in Cancun speak Mayan. The messages range from: Make sure your flashlights are working, check you have enough batteries for flashlights and your radio, clear your yard (garden) of stuff that can be blown around, tape up your windows, ensure you have a good supply of purified water, remember to turn your gas mains off before the storm starts. To: check on your neighbours, listen to the radio bulletins, don’t hoard food - just buy enough for a couple of days.

Watching the peaceful efficiency of the local people as they prepare for an emergency has helped lessen my sense of anxiety. These people, the people of Quintana Roo, have lived with the threat of hurricanes all their lives.

We pray for them.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today