Just six weeks after the largest hurricane on record to hit the Yucatan Peninsula, things are getting back to normal, especially in Playa del Carmen, where intial reports of doom-and-gloom have given way to a strong forecast for further development and improvement. So much so, that it's almost easy to forget the first news that came out of the region after the storm, such as this article, originally posted on news24.com:
Hurricane Wilma Destroys Town
Nov. 22, 2005
The Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen, popular with European and North American tourists, was "destroyed" by powerful Hurricane Wilma, civil defence officials said on Saturday. The small town, south of high-rise-laden Cancun, had at least 1000 homes seriously damaged, said Moises Ramirez, the town's civil defence chief, as Wilma's eye was just inland on the Yucatan peninsula, almost stationary, between mainland Caribbean Cancun and the island Cozumel. Locals said it was the worst storm they could remember, as its effects dragged on over 36 hours. "Playa is destroyed. We have water everywhere, all of the power lines are down, we are flooded all over. Playa is just not like this," the distraught official said by phone as he toured his town.
Aren't we all glad it didn't turn out to be that bad?
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