Tourists trapped in Cancun? Didn't they know a hurricane was coming?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2465662.htm

Trapped tourists' nerves fray in storm-hit Cancun

CANCUN, Mexico, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Dazed foreign tourists stranded in stinking shelters in this hurricane-hit Mexican beach resort demanded to be rescued on Monday, and President Vicente Fox lost his cool at slow aid efforts.

Toilets overflowed and food was scarce at refuges in Cancun, where some 20,000 vacationers spent their fifth day sleeping on floors or in stuffy rooms without electricity or running water.

Hurricane Wilma, one of the strongest Atlantic storms recorded, wrecked Cancun at the weekend, gutting huge hotels. Cancun is Mexico's main resort, a major source of jobs in the region and the jewel of a tourism industry that is the country's third-biggest earner of foreign currency.

An outbreak of looting over the weekend added to the chaos and forced the government to deploy troops to halt the lawlessness.

[JetboyOne]

1. Maybe

they stayed so they could participate in the looting? :eyes:

[warrens]

4. No maybe about it

YOu know how them white people are.

[Lisa0825]

2. Not sure about everyone's situation, but....

This one sprung up very quickly, and there was a mad dash for the airport. Maybe those who were stuck included a lot of people who tried to leave and couldn't get on a flight? I also heard a bout price-gouging going on as well. Maybe they couldn't shell out another $1000, so they took shelter instead?

[Bridget Burke]

6. Most of them probably had "package deals"

In which one fairly reasonable price includes Round Trip Tickets & a Hotel stay. How easy is it to quickly buy a One Way Ticket when there's lots of competition? How much would it cost?

There are NO cities near enough Cancun to have been good refuges.

[tx_dem41]

16. Ding, ding, ding!

You win Bridget.

[TahitiNut]

12. I strongly doubt there were outbound seats available.

It's not as though the airlines run with significant excess capacity. As folks canceled their incoming travel, flights would be canceled. Indeed, running a business is all about NOT spending for excess capacity! That's one of the major problems with "running government like a business" and then dealing with a disaster. How? The ONLY 'excess capacity' the fascists believe in is the ability to destroy the entire planet 5 times over ... should the need arise.

Excess housing capacity? Nonsense. So what if all of a sudden we need 500,000 homes? We need to be able to destroy the world.

Excess employment capacity? Nonsense. So what if all of a sudden we need 1,700,000 jobs? We need to be able to destroy the world.

Excess transportation capacity? Nonsense. So what if all of a sudden we need 100 flights? We need to be able to destroy the world.

As we watch how our society deals with disasters, keep that in mind. The "business mind" doesn't think in terms of excess capacity just laying around so it's available for a disaster. The "business mind" figures that's just not profitable.

[bahrbearian]

3. Why should they have left,, They had ice for their stiff Margaritas

Brownie wasn't there to do a "Heck of a job"

[Kingshakabobo]

5. My friends, stuck in New Orleans during Katrina, didn't know that airports

shut down 30 hours ahead of anticipated land-fall. I guess if you are not savvy enough to know hurricane procedures, like most tourists, you get caught with your pants down.

[NNN0LHI]

7. But since Katrina seems like people would check into that kind of stuff?

I am pretty sure I would? No I am positive I would.

Don

[catmandu57]

8. I can't understand why people take vacations

to that part of the world during hurricane season? I can see going in December, January, Febuary, even March, but to go during hurricane season is just idiocy.

[Lisa0825]

10. It's a risk, but it's usually safe.

I have vacationed in Mexico during hurricane season several times, and have never personally gotten stuck there, and this is the first time I have had to change my plans. It's low season, but cooler than summer. High season starts in late November. Tickets are cheaper for those on budgets.

It's a risk.... driving on the highway is a risk too.

[priller]

13. Because it's cheap!

Flights and cruises to Mexico are much cheaper during that time. I'm going on a cruise myself on December 3rd. When we made the reservations several months ago, I thought we'd be well out of hurricane season by then. Hopefully I'll be right.

And remember, this is a record year for hurricanes in the Atlantic.

[deutsey]

9. Don't they have any busses there? Is Hannity on this?

:eyes:

[Fla Dem]

11. If it gets him face time, and he can tie it into illegal immigration,

he will be.

[SoCalDem]

14. There was a report the other day about how people who "survived"

the hurricane in Cancun, would likely be "rewarded" with free trips and perhaps refunds..

Some people actually try to book tickets on crowded flights to get "bumped" so they get the free hotel,meal and free tickets to fly later and or refunds..

There are some people who actually LIKE "risky" travel.. It gives them something to talk about to all their friends when they get back home..

Anyone can go to Cancun and come back with a sunburn and a hangover..but NOT everyone can come home with a STORY of survival ..

adrenalin junkies..


Shame on Cancun resort-owners for not canceling /closing/and sending the touristas home before Wilma hit them.. Now they have doofus dilettantes running all over the place, demanding care that the mexican government is unequipped to provide..

[Bluebear]

15. They checked DU, which said it was only a "distraction" so they stayed

Kidding, kidding! ;)

[kwassa]

17. We got caught in a hurricane ....

on the Outer Banks last year, which usually evacuates at the first hint. Category 2, about eight hours of shaking and vibrating. Hurricane Alex got Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke, and became a hurricane quite suddenly.