Lil' Rumi Boat

In the wake of Hurricane Jimena, an estimated 35,000 people in central Baja California are homeless and stranded without food, water or power. Rescue efforts and communications have been hampered due to the destruction of airports, roads, bridges, power lines and cell phone towers. ( Source: Mexidata ) According to some reports and photos, Highway 1 into and out of Santa Rosalia suffered some significant damage. This photo of Highway 1 south of Santa Rosalia comes from a September 5th web forum discussing hurricane damage from Jimena . There are a number of web sites, photo sites and blogs that show some of the devastation from the hurricane. The blog Bajasafari has links to a number of good sites. But the best photos that we've seen of Jimena's impact on the town of Santa Rosalia come from Alex and Sue of Maitairoa . They rode out the storm at the same marina as Rumiko . Alex and Sue's photos show the storm, as well as the devastation caused by flooding and mudslid...

A dog wades through a flooded street next to a battered house after Hurricane Jimena hit Puerto San Carlos. ( Photo source: Reuters . Click here to view other Reuters' photographs of Puerto San Carlos after the storm.) On Wednesday, Hurricane Jimena made landfall on the Baja Peninsula. Jimena pummeled the coast and inland towns with winds as high as 100 mph and torrential rains that forecasters said could cause dangerous floods and mudslides. Communities in the northern part of the state of Baja Sur have suffered damage such as flooding, power outages, downed trees and roofs being torn off buildings. The organization Baja Bush Pilots has been monitoring the damage caused by Jimena in northern Baja California Sur, and continues to post updates on the extent of the damage in various Baja communities. According to the Baja Bush Pilots there has been considerable damage to the main highway (1) in the mid-Baja peninsula and some bridges have been washed out making travel di...

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center , "...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE JIMENA MOVING NORTHWEST...NEW WATCHES ISSUED FOR BAJA PENINSULA AND MAINLAND MEXICO..." Hurricane Jimena is headed for the Baja peninsula, and is predicted to make landfall on Wednesday. The most recent predictions (these are updated every few hours) show Rumiko as being directly in Jimena's path. By the time Jimena reaches Santa Rosalia, and the marina where Rumiko is located, it is predicted that it will have weakened to either a Category 1 hurricane (winds 74-95 mph) or a tropical storm (winds 33-73 mph). Needless to say, we are following Jimena's progress with much concern - both for Rumiko and for the people and communities on the Baja Peninsula. Good web sites for tracking hurricanes in the Baja region include EEBMIKE , or the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). The graphic below is from the NHC (with a slight adaptation by Lisa). So, Rumiko - our little home on th...