The civil protection agency for the state of Quintana Roo has issued a “Blue Alert” for Hurricane Gustav**.  This indicates the minimum warning, with no real danger to the area over the next 72 hours, really just advising citizens that a hurricane is in the Atlantic with a possibility of affecting Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center indicates that Gustav is a category 1 hurricane, currently bringing wind and rain to the Dominican Republic and Haiti and en route to Cuba and Jamaica.  They expect the storm to weaken slightly over Haiti, then pick up force again as it heads towards Cuba.

It appears that Cancun and the Riviera Maya are not in the direct line of fire of Hurricane Gustav at this moment, though storms are historically unpredictable.  Models seem to indicate a move over Cuba then up towards Texas or Florida, though it is still probable that Quintana Roo will see some storm action on the weekend.

**(We will be linking to local news sites, therefore they will be in Spanish, please use your favourite translator for the English versions, Google Translate provides a decent enough translation)

posted by CancunCanuck

in Cancun

Uh Oh! There’s a real live hurricane out there in the Caribbean and it seems to be heading this way. I’ve been watching this system develop over the last couple of days. Yesterday it was predicted to curve north and cross Cuba and then go bother Florida. Last night it was still a Tropical Storm and was predicted to come a little closer to the Yucatan. But I still didn’t worry.

Now it’s a hurricane and according to the National Hurricane Center Cancun and the Riviera Maya are within the 5-Day Track Forecast Cone. Uh Oh!

The first thing I thought when I heard that Hurricane Gustav might be headed toward Cancun is that “I don’t have time to prep for a hurricane and then face a possible power outage, I’ve got too many other things to do.” And I know that one of my favorite charities in Cancun, the City of Joy Foundation, is supposed to have major fund-raising Golf Tournament this weekend. So I’m upset with Hurricane Gustav because this is just rotten timing.

But being grumpy won’t get the house ready for a hurricane. So today I will begin determining what we’ve got to do to get the house and ourselves ready in case this ill-timed hurricane decides to have it’s way with us. I’ll keep you posted.

Posted by RiverGirl
in Cancun