CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) – Hurricane Odile raked the Baja California Peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains early Monday as locals and tourists in the resort area of Los Cabos began to emerge from shelters and assess the damage.
The extent of Odile’s impact was still not clear before daybreak, but the storm severely damaged hotel lobbies and facades, shattered windows and left streets full of debris. The newspaper Tribuna de los Cabos reported people being injured by flying glass, power lines and traffic signals down throughout the city, and a serious fire at one hotel. The windows at the area’s Westin Hotel had been blown out.
By early Monday, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (185 kph) as it moved over the peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane. It was centered about 140 miles (230 kilometers) east-southeast of Cabo San Lazaro.
People hunkered down in shelters and hotel conference rooms overnight as the powerful and sprawling storm made landfall Sunday night as a powerful Category 3 storm near Cabo San Lucas with an estimated intensity of 125 mph (205 kph).
The area is home to gleaming megaresorts, tiny fishing communities and low-lying neighborhoods of flimsy homes. Forecasters predicted a dangerous storm surge with large waves as well as drenching rains capable of causing landslides and flash floods.