Hurricane Odile batters Mexico's tourist haven
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E-mail China Daily, September 17, 2014
Odile tore down power lines, water tanks, air conditioning units and smashed storefronts across Cabo San Lucas, sparking looting.
Pharmacies, electronics shops and convenience stores were among businesses hit by looters before police restored order on streets strewn with shattered glass from broken windows, said local shop worker Cristina Osuna, 31.
Tourists in shelters or hiding in bathtubs in their rooms posted photos overnight on social media showing windows barricaded with furniture after they were blown out.
Many hotels suffered flooding.
"It was awful," said shop worker Osuna. "Nobody slept last night because water was coming in and we had to get it out."
THOUSANDS EVACUATED
At least 26,000 foreign tourists and 4,000 Mexicans were estimated to be in the region, officials said. Thousands of people were evacuated from areas at risk of flooding.
The NHC said Odile was expected to slow as it pushed northwest along the desert peninsula and forecast the storm would weaken steadily over the next two days.
Some experts said it was the strongest hurricane to hit the tip of the peninsula since the advent of satellite data.
Ahead of the storm's approach, people in Cabo San Lucas rushed to board up windows, clear beach furniture and remove fishing boats and yachts from the water and into dry docks.
Many beaches in Mexico were packed with tourists during the weekend ahead of Tuesday's Independence Day holiday, but the resorts of Los Cabos are in low season and mostly visited by Americans.
There are no major oil installations in the area.
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