Riviera Maya, Q.R. — October 21 marked the 20th anniversary of Quintana Roo’s devastating Hurricane Wilma. The category 5 hurricane hit the island of Cozumel with winds of up to 295 kilometers per hour and stuck around more than two days.
Wilma remained over the state for over 64 hours before finally moving off, leaving six destroyed municipalities in its wake. It was the most intense hurricane to ever hit the region.
On Wilma’s 20th anniversary, Governor Mara Lezama said the hurricane laid the foundation for a globally recognized culture of prevention and civil protection.
“Since then, we have strengthened our early warning systems and temporary shelters to protect what we have most valuable assets: the lives of the people of Quintana Roo and its visitors,” the Governor Lezama said.
Her message came on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Wilma. The category 5 hurricane and made landfall on the island of Cozumel with winds of up to 295 kilometers per hour.
On Tuesday, Governor Lezama urged the people of Cozumel, as well as the people of Quintana Roo, to not only remember it, but to apply preventive measures.
Lezama said Tuesday that the hurricane remained over the state for more than 64 hours, leaving serious damage in six municipalities, with a declaration of natural disaster, and a 94 percent impact on the tourism industry.
“Wilma marked a before and after for our people. The strength and unbreakable spirit of the people of Quintana Roo, the unity, solidarity and collaborative work are here to stay,” she said.
She added that the experience gained after that natural disaster laid the foundation for a globally recognized culture of prevention and civil protection. In the framework of the anniversary, Mara Lezama reported that her government is promoting the strategy: Attentive, Alert and Safe.
“In Quintana Roo, when difficult times arrive we unite, we support each other and we rise stronger than ever,” she emphasized, inviting the population to maintain prevention as a permanent habit: yo keep surroundings clean and to follow official information during hurricane season.
