Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The Friday arrival of Cold Front 41 left the region’s residents under blankets and many roadways under water. The arrival of the front also caused Quintana Roo ports to close navigation to small boats.
With up to 60 km/hour gusts recorded, vessels under 40 feet were docked for the day. This meant not only no fishing, but also no recreational activities for tourists. However, passenger ferry services were permitted from Punta Sam, Puerto Juárez and Cancún to Isla Mujeres and vice versa. The Cozumel and Playa del Carmen ferry services were also running.
One of the hardest hit areas was Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the area south of Tulum where flooding in homes and streets was reported. Edgar Armando Chan Suárez, head of the municipal Fire Brigade, said they had reports of flooding after more than nine consecutive hours of rainfall.
“There were more than nine continuous hours of rain caused by the entry of the cold front in the Mayan area, affecting different areas of the municipality. Fortunately there was no major damage,” he clarified.
Ángel Sulub Hernández, head of the municipal Civil Protection said that few weeks ago, they began cleaning and desilting the wells, where they managed to remove more than 10 tons of waste including bags, plastic bottles and “all kinds of garbage.”
In Cancun, six traffic accidents were reported in less than 12 hours while the cold front entered the region. A lack of consideration for the newly wet roadways were the most common cause of the accidents.