Find out what locals had to say the night before Hurricane Lidia makes landfall— past experiences with hurricanes in the area and local recommendations for how to be prepared.
According to MeteoMex as of 3:00pm,
“Lydia has become a potentially dangerous hurricane; high alert in Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima.
This afternoon, Hurricane #Lidia was located approximately 185 km west-southwest of #PuertoVallarta, Jalisco, presenting an east-northeast displacement at a rate of 26 km / h.
A hurricane hunter aircraft that investigated Lidia recorded sustained winds of 205 km / h with gusts of up to 250 km / h, being classified as a category 3 hurricane.
Environmental conditions are favorable to continue intensifying, so it could become a category 4 before impacting land.
The trajectory remains firm in impacting this afternoon / night between #CaboCorrientes and #Tomatlán as a powerful hurricane, so all coastal municipalities of Jalisco must take extreme precautions for hurricane effects.”
The government ordered that all businesses close at 2pm, and buses will stop running at 5pm as Civil Protection has been ordered. Hotels are evacuating people from high risk areas, there are no exits to the sea or boats, cruises have been cancelled, flights leaving Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR/Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport) are being cancelled, and classes have been canceled….so what does this all mean?
Those of us who live in Puerto Vallarta know that rainy season is also hurricane season. Antonio Castillón is the co-owner of popular local, family-owned tour and transportation company Vallarta Vamonos. He said,
“We deal with hurricanes every year, from halfway through June to the end of October.
Approximately 80% of them turn into tropical storms; then, we only get a lot of rain for a few hours. I like to go out and enjoy the rain. Before every hurricane, the port is closed, and no single boat can be in the ocean. Protection Civil advises not to go outside, buying candles, food, radio, batteries, toilet paper, and food that could be out of the fridge.”
Locals always say that the mountains of the Sierra Madre protect Puerto Vallarta from the larger possible impacts of the hurricanes. Castillón is one who agrees with that sentiment, when asked if he believes the mountains protect Puerto Vallarta, he said,
“I am a believer. The Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains are our sentinels, our shield against them.”
Ximena Esparza is the former weather girl for TV Mar, a popular singer and entertainer as well as the youngest producer ever in Puerto Vallarta, producing and starring in popular shows at places like Act2PV at just 21-years old. Esparza said,
“It is scientifically proven that mountains (thanks to their height) serve as barriers to stop the air currents that form a hurricane.”
Lluvia Moreno, a local visual artist, art teacher (Arte-Sana) and nationally award-winning gymnastics and dance teacher/coach, who was also born and raised in Vallarta also agrees,
“When we see the average trajectory of hurricanes we can see that they hit the mountains…”
If you’ve been in or around Puerto Vallarta since 2021, you may remember Hurricane Nora. The rains from Hurricane Nora caused the rivers, Rio Cuale and Rio Pitillal, to overflow. So in addition to some damage on the malecon, Nora caused a lot of destruction to the areas around the rivers. Isla Cuale was completely covered in mud and many plants and other things that the community had on the popular island were swept away, along with the main bridge connecting El Centro and Zona Romántica. And groups like the Rotary Club of Mexico and Vallarta Food Bank sprung into action to help with providing food, clothes and shelters for those who were in need.
Naomi De Acosta, originally from Bolivia, is an artist and business owner (the places she owns with her husband Sergio are popular with both local and international habitants of Vallarta—The Gusto Lounge and The Beatnik PV), who has been living in Vallarta for 8 years. She remembered Nora,
“The one that Cuale river destroyed the bridge that connects Zona, it was very sad for me to see people losing members of their family and their belongings in one night. I know there was more destructive results in other parts of the Bahia, didn’t witness but (I) watch the news. People tend to help during hard times. Thank God.”
Esparza, who is too young to remember Hurricane Kenna (in 2002, she was 1 year old), remembers Nora vividly,
“…the last hurricane that came to Vallarta was the worst till now, it destroyed the Cuale’s bridge, and caused so much damage along the city.”
Remembering Hurricane Kenna (Category 5), Castillón said,
“It mainly damaged the boardwalk (malecon), businesses across the street from the boardwalk, hotels, and condos close to the beach, so their decks and pools.
After the hurricane was done, I remember seeing pictures in newspaper and videos on YouTube about how big the waves were (like 2 meters above the boardwalk)
broken doors and windows, a lot of business merchandise in the street, boardwalk, and beach
Some cars were above other cars, trash from palm trees, and even an ATM in the ocean swimming in front of the boardwalk.
My family and I watched the storm from the window; I remember seeing an Almendro tree getting broken and rolled by the wind like one block. As kids, it looked pretty cool.”
So, what do the locals recommend as we prepare for Hurricane Lidia to make landfall?
Castillón recommended the following:
“Avoid rivers and beaches, and don't drive into the mountain roads (towards Sayulita, San Sebastian, El Tuito).
Follow the advice provided by Proteccion Civil, official government social media sources. Turn on the radio.
If you live close to a creek or in a neighborhood that gets flooded every rain and your house is on the 1st level, watch out for how heavy and prolonged the rain is; it could be wise to place sand backs at your doors to prevent the water from getting into your house. Or put bricks in your furniture to lift them up from the ground.
Please pick up the street garbage so the filters don't get plugged, nor our ocean-polluted
If you live near rivers or mountain areas and have friends, acquaintances, or family living in a safer place, visit them during the storm.
If you or your neighbor have an aluminum tile roof, make sure they are correctly attached, so there is zero risk of those being flying pushed by the wind.
Make sure your rooftop water tank's lid is placed correctly.
Have enough food that can be good without a fridge for 2-3 days.”
Moreno said,
“Worrying about the consequence is not the best way…”
Esparza said,
“My advice to people would be to stay as calm as possible, but be aware of the official news from the government and not believe everything they see in social media, follow the protocols, secure their houses and not leave their homes until the worst has happened. We need to stay away from the streets.
It is predicted that the worst part of Hurricane Lidia will be on Tuesday night and Wednesday. But it is really important to keep calm and not panic.
We will be fine.”
And as for De Acosta? She said,
“I think what we can’t control we have to let it be, that’s the hurricane, we can take safety measurements and do our best!”
You can probably find De Acosta in The Gusto Lounge waiting out the storm, as she also said,
“The good thing is that I can hang out at the bar with friends even if there is no electricity, we still have each other to laugh and put the mind in another place.”
Stay inside, and stay safe. See you on the other side!
SOURCES AND REFERENCES:
https://www.facebook.com/vallartavamonos
https://www.instagram.com/ximena_esparz
https://tvmar.tv/puerto-vallarta
https://www.instagram.com/lluviamorenoarte/
https://www.instagram.com/clubrotaractpvsur/
https://www.instagram.com/quinonaomi/