Mersey tourists in path of hurricane

Aug 21 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

DOZENS of Merseyside tourists holidaying in Mexico were last night braced for the impact of Hurricane Dean, which has devastated parts of the Caribbean and claimed at least six lives.

As forecasters predicted that the storm would intensify into the highest category five by the time it hit Central America, tourists from the region were being evacuated from their hotels to makeshift shelters.

The Federation of Tour Operators said about 3,000 British tourists had been evacuated from Cancun in recent days, ahead of the hurricane moving in.

However, many others said they were stranded in the Mexican coastal resort after the airport was thrown into chaos with huge numbers of people trying to flee the region.

More than 5,500 UK holidaymakers still stranded in the area are being advised to leave for their own safety but Lee Hughes, a primary school teacher from Kirkby, and his new wife Liz, said attempts to fly home from their two-week honeymoon were futile.

They said despite extra flights being laid on to help transport tourists out, people had been stranded and now just had to prepare for the storm to hit.

Mrs Hughes, a Radio Merseyside journalist, spoke to the Daily Post minutes before the couple were evacuated from their hotel to an inland Cancun primary school.

“The hurricane is very intimidating and people are starting to feel quite nervous,” she said.

“It is surreal at the moment as we have seen the footage of the hurricane that is heading our way but it is still beautiful sunshine outside.

“We just can’t believe this is going to happen.”

The Cayman Islands were spared the full force of Hurricane Dean, but the Foreign Office still advised tourists in the Yucatan peninsula to leave.

Meanwhile, airports in Jamaica remain closed and electricity supplies turned off after the storm hit on Sunday. Hurricane Dean wreaked havoc in the eastern Caribbean, claiming at least six lives.

There have been no reports so far of casualties in Jamaica.

One man, Paul, from Liverpool posted a message on a forum set up for people affected by the hurricane, outlining the problems his daughter had had in Cancun trying to get information about the risks.

He said in the end he was forced to pay £850 to fly his daughter home to ensure her safety. He wrote: “My daughter was in Cancun on holiday.

“I spent £850 to get out Saturday on a flight to Miami, then London, and then Manchester.

“She was there 10 days and only saw her tour rep on the first day and had to rely on information from another tour company.

“The hotel would not give any information.

“We decided to fly her out on Friday after watching the news and the projected path of the hurricane.”

carolineinnes