Cozumel Hurricane Update/Relief Effort

[DanL]

Cozumel is being blasted by a direct hit from Wilma, one of the worst hurricanes ever, and sustaining significant damage.  Following is a translated statement from the governor of Quitana Roo:

"The first point of impact in Quintana Roo and for that matter Mexico was the Island Of Cozumel located off the coast of Quintana Roo near the resort destination of Playa Del Carmen. "Wilma" came across Cozumel as a Category 4 Hurricane causing massive devestation according to preliminary information I am receiving"

"The Civil Protection from Quintana Roo is reporting that the winds took down and caused severe damage to houses and businesses including those that had protection and re-inforcement against Hurricanes."

Additionally, signs, posts, electrical poles were blown away and some vehicles were overturned and swept away.

The Principal streets and avenues are flooded with waters of 4 to 5 feet and there are dozens of boats with damage. There was also a surge that washed almost a mile of highway into the ocean on the "backend of the Island"

"As of right now officials in Cozumel have not reported any serious injuries nor deaths."

Many of us have had the pleasure of diving in Cozumel, one of the world's premier dive sites.  Many of us also have friends there, and we each have our favorite dive operations, restaurants, etc.

The loss of property, infrastructure and boats may be significant - much worse than from any previous hurricanes, based on the statement above.

May I propose pulling together a relief effort to help get the Cozumel back on its feet. Perhaps local dive shops could provide the key contact points for fundraising for the Cozumel Red Cross and for possible other aid needs to be identified when contact is re-established.

Any of your ideas on how best to organize help (money, supplies, on-site help, etc.) would be appreciated.

Note that as of the last communications out of Coz, some dive operators had taken many divers into their own homes for protection.  Pretty remarkable.

(Note: As moderator of this forum, I thought this post appropriate.  MnScuba moderators - if you feel it innapropriate please feel free to remove.  Thank you.)

[treeguy]

I spent most of the weekend on Cozumel message boards talking to many of the friends I have made down in Cozumel.  From the limited phone calls making it out it sounds even worse than people predicted.  Almost all of the small piers have been destroyed, Punta Lagosta cruise pier is severely damaged and most all the shops along Melgar are severely damaged.  One restaurant, Tony Romes, which is a block back from the water has been totally flattened.  One person who was there described it as the worse thunderstorm we have ever had in Minnesota, only it lasted for 60 hours straight.  I have always been amazed at the people of Cozumel and how friendly and helpfull they are to the tourist so it does not surprise me in the least they were taking tourists into there homes.  I think one of the things that can be done is to not avoid Cozumel because of the damage.  They are going to need as much tourism dollars as they can possibly get to get things up and running again.

[SmithDiving]

As some of you may know we've been leading trips to Cozumel every winter for the past 20 plus years and have made many good friends in Cozumel.  We are frustrated with the limited information coming out of the area and are trying to piece together news from web postings and any info people send along to us.  We have started posting update info (limited as of now) on our Cozumel trip page at
Once we get some input from our friends on Cozumel we'll set up some kind of relief effort or at least give contact info for available donation sites.  We will still be running our trips this winter and may actually add a 4th week depending on demand.  The people of the area need our support and the postings on this and other sites show how much divers love Cozumel and it's people, hopefully we'll find out soon how to show that support in a more tangible way.

[DanL]

Thank you, Smith Diving.

The need is great.  Latest reports indicate severe damage, food shortages, etc.  Power is not likely to be back on for 2 to 6 weeks.  Good news is that many dive ops are recovering their boats with minimal damage, and with the drift currents the reef  somewhat sweeps itself clean.  Diving should be great once the infrastructure is back in place to support tourists.
If you haven't been to Coz, re-read the Smith post.  They have returned to Coz for 20 years because of the fantastic drift diving, the wonderful people and the value. 
Please support the Coz folks and their recovery by considering a dive trip there and/or by donations.
Thank you,
Dan L

[SmithDiving]

We've posted a link to a Cozumel relief fund on our site (link from above post).  This is a group of dive folks on Cozumel who have set up a fund to aid dive professionals and thier families on Cozumel.  These people will be without paychecks for quite a while and may have to completely rebuild their homes.  Help is desperately needed.  The relief site uses PayPal and also has a link to the Red Cross in Mexico if you'd feel more comfortable with that.

[treeguy]

Thanks for creating the link.