Thousands of Tourists Left Stranded in Acapulco
With much of the northern hemisphere bracing for the second half of a busy hurricane season, millions of travelers to Mexico rolled the dice as they booked their airfare for beach vacations during the tail-end of the summer. Hurricane Manuel, the latest in the series of hurricanes that have made their way through Latin America, made landfall near Acapulco, a major travel destination.
Hurricane Manuel picked up speed on Wednesday night and struck the municipality of Atoyac de Alvarez, a small town about 50 miles west of Acapulco. Mudslides also developed in the remote mountain village of La Pintada because of the unrelenting rainfall, according to The Weather Channel. Manuel was a tropical storm during most the week, but was categorized as a hurricane on Wednesday evening and was clocking in sustaining winds of 75 miles per hour.
CNN reported that there were around 40,000 tourists left stranded in Mexico, as planes were grounded due to the impending storm. In fact, the passenger terminals at Acapulco airport were reportedly flooded. One traveler, Veronica Garcia, was trapped in Acapulco on the second floor of her vacation home with her family as the floodwaters rose. "Unfortunately, this took us by surprise," Garcia told CNN en EspaƱol. "It rained uncontrollably. The streets flooded, and we had to stay inside our beach house." Local volunteers eventually came by with a canoe to whisk Garcia and one of her sons to a local shelter, where she had to wait two days before the rest of her family joined her.
The Garcia's were not the only travelers who experienced the wrath of hurricanes hitting Mexican vacation spots. Much of Mexico's coastlines, both on the Gulf side and the Pacific side, were pummeled with heavy winds and rain, as the remaining storms of Hurricane Ingrid were also bringing in low-pressure movement.
Although there were thousands of tourists left stranded in Acapulco, the Mexican government set up support systems to help. Officials set up special hotlines so that travelers could get the information they needed. Local businesses offered discounts for travelers who were displaced by the storms.
Although planning a trip to Mexico is risky during hurricane season, having travel insurance is a simple way to help protect you and your family while you are away. Travelex Insurance Services provides a variety of travel insurance plans to protect your trip investment while traveling.
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Submitted on: 2013-11-19 19:31:10