Hurricane Pamela: authorities open shelters to tourists and locals in Mazatlán

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If you are a tourist and you are stranded in the port, there are also shelters for you to take refuge

Mazatlán, Sinaloa.- The Local Emergency Attention Committee of Mazatlán announced the implementation of preventive measures to support the population, given the impact of hurricane “Pamela” scheduled for the first hours of this Wednesday, where shelters are ready and closings of squares and markets, in addition to the suspension of public transport.

During the follow-up session, the Civil Protection coordinator, Eloy Ruiz Gastélum, explained that at 6:00 in the morning of this Tuesday, the temporary shelters of first instance were opened in the urban area, at the ICO for local families and the Convention Center for tourists who cannot return to their place of origin and who are stranded in bus stations.

While for the rural area, the Sixto Osuna elementary school in Villa Unión will function as a shelter. In addition to the fact that the school of the Barrón police station will be enabled as a shelter for the population in an emergency situation such as the flooding of the Presidio River.

In the session, it was announced that according to the National Meteorological Service, “Pamela” was located at noon 430 kilometers southwest of Mazatlán with a displacement of 13 kilometers per hour. It is expected that between 04:00 to 08:00 hours this Wednesday the system will enter between Barras de Piaxtla and Mazatlán.

“Mazatlán is in the yellow phase of a cyclone approaching. It is time to prepare, to be attentive to all the bulletins and communications that are going to be issued in the next few hours. In a few moments more units of both Public Security, Civil Protection, municipal DIF and other competent authorities will be available, making tours of the areas considered vulnerable to flooding or any other type of problem, ” Ruiz Gastélum reported.

At the meeting, it was announced that this Tuesday night activities, such as club operations and mass gatherings, will be suspended this Tuesday from 6:00 p.m., in addition to the restriction of light vehicles on federal highways. Only the motor transport of cargo and heavy equipment should be circulating, as well as a bus that needs to be mobilized.

At 3:00 p.m. the ports of Mazatlán and Teacapán were closed to navigation.

Ruiz Gastélum said that public transport will reinforce with units until 10:00 at night to provide passenger service, especially in the tourist area when the workers return to their homes. And that worker who for extraordinary reasons could not move or take a vehicle, will be transferred by official vehicles the closest to his home.

He stressed that this Wednesday, the public transport service will be restricted and that the one on the street will be sporadic. While the International Airport will wait for the last flight to come from Mexico City.

In addition, he said that shopping malls, self-service stores and municipal markets will close this Tuesday normally, but on Wednesday they will remain closed and he trusted that people have already made their purchases in advance.

This Tuesday, the head of the National Civil Protection System, Laura Velázquez, arrived in Mazatlán as part of the support that the Federal Government sends to the state for the actions that must be implemented in the following hours. And all the support of the Federal Government was announced in case of an emergency.

Municipal officials will visit the areas considered vulnerable to flooding starting in the afternoon on Tuesday, to urge families to protect themselves and, if necessary, to mobilize for temporary shelters.

Shelters are ready across Sinaloa

For his part, the director of state Civil Protection, Juan Francisco Vega Meza reported that in the state all the municipal councils of CP have already been installed, mainly in the surveillance zones of the north-central region of the entity.

He added that temporary shelters have also begun to be installed for the shelter of possible victims and people who are in areas at risk of flooding.

As part of the reinforcement in the municipalities with the highest risk of flooding, the agency has deployed some elements.

He shared that, according to the early warning system, the following municipalities are on orange alert: Navolato, Badiraguato, Culiacán, Cosalá, Elota, San Ignacio, Mazatlán, Concordia, Rosario and Escuinapa.

Given this, the official highlighted the importance of reducing the mobility of citizens.

Refugee estimate

In the aforementioned municipalities, he said, there will be a total of 62 temporary shelters with the capacity to house up to 28 thousand people.

So far there are 7 shelters in Concordia, 5 in Cosalá, 2 Culiacán, 6 Elota, 7 Escuinapa, 6 Mazatlán, 6 Navolato, 7 Rosario and 6 in San Ignacio.

Vega Meza pointed out that 12 communities vulnerable to gusts of wind have been detected in Culiacán, 23 in Navolato, 9 in Elota, 8 in San Ignacio, 12 in Mazatlán, 18 in Rosario, and 15 in Escuinapa.

At the second working table of the permanent State Civil Protection Council, the National Civil Protection Coordinator Laura Velázquez was also present, who reported that she will be monitoring the port of Mazatlán and the south of the state this afternoon.

Right there he said that the first supplies for people in shelters or victims are about to arrive in Sinaloa, such is the case of food. Blankets, water and personal hygiene kits.

For its part, the Secretary of the Navy said it was ready to implement the “Marina” plan, given the overflow of rivers, canals, and drains.

Before the arrival of hurricane ‘Pamela’, the National Water Commission will maintain constant monitoring of the Sanalona dam, as it is already at 100 percent of its capacity and could suffer an overflow.

The Mazatlan Post