Hurricane Milton

Isla Mujeres got off extremely lightly with hurricane Milton and avoided the devastation  wreaked on Florida where there has been enormous suffering.

By any measure Milton was a strange hurricane, nothing quite like it has been seen before; it started in the Gulf of Mexico rather than approaching the island slowly, from further down the coast. In general a hurricane can be seen working its way up the coast passing Belize, so there is plenty of time for islanders to prepare, this time it suddenly appeared quite close to Isla Mujeres and rapidly built up to a force five.

There has been talk of weather manipulation, perhaps not without foundation; the technology has been around for some years as have those who wish to do damage. We previously only experienced evil geniuses in James Bond films now they seem to have come to life.

 Something that tends to have exacerbated the damage in Florida is the way the proprieties are built; some builders use a combination of wood and steel, other are predominately built from wood. At Isla Mujeres Luxury Homes we construct with concrete and re enforced steel, we don't use any wood during the construction of our homes, consequently they have never suffered any structural damage during a hurricane.

Isla Mujeres has experienced various hurricanes throughout the years, two were quite devastating, Gilberto in 1988 and Wilmer in 2005. Gilberto completely devastated the island, photos and videos can still be found on the internet showing the island under water; there is one that shows a large part of the town hall submerged. The Red cross dropped food and water supplies as there was no food or clean water. They say the island was cut in half. There is an English doctor, Dr Greta Shorey, still practicing on the island today, who came here in 1988 to carry out voluntary work with the Red Cross and remained.

Wilmer in 2005 took everyone by surprise; people were talking of a tropical storm right up to the day before it arrived and then suddenly discovered that a force five hurricane was almost upon them. People were panic buying plywood to board up their windows and within hours the supermarket shelves were empty; as always some people buying more than they need, leaving others with nothing. Many tried to leave the island; the ferry that left late afternoon the day before was quickly filled. After many attempts they managed to get a ferry that was out of service started and many more were able to escape.

Would people stop buying on Isla Mujeres on learning that it is in a hurricane zone? It is unlikely, also there are parts of the island which overlook the bay to Cancun, where our properties are located that are very well protected from storms. After all if you want winter sunshine wherever you go you will be in a hurricane zone. The hurricane season is theoretically from April to November, but in general we only see them in September and October before the sea has a chance to cool down.