Jan Wesner Childs
Hurricane Delta toppled trees and knocked out power in the resort areas of Cancun and Cozumel as the storm made landfall early Wednesday morning on the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
Delta came ashore around 5:30 a.m. local time with pouring rain and sustained winds up to 110 mph.
Carlos Joaquín Gonzalez, governor of Quintana Roo state where the popular tourist destinations of Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen are located, said in a news conference Wednesday morning that about half of the cities in the state were without power. He said some families had to be evacuated overnight after windows and doors blew out of buildings.
But as of Wednesday evening, Gonzalez said no injuries or deaths had been reported in Quintana Roo.
"Fortunately, the most dangerous part of the hurricane has passed," he said, according to the Associated Press.
(MORE: The Latest Forecast for Hurricane Delta)
The government was assessing damage, but there were reports of other minor structural damage including roofs. Crews were also working to clear fallen trees and power lines.
Video posted to social media Wednesday morning showed flooded streets in Cozumel.
Thousands of tourists and residents hunkered down in shelters as the storm closed in overnight.
"The hard part has been the waiting," visitor Ana Karen Rodríguez told the AP.
Rodríguez and a friend arrived in Cancun Tuesday morning, only to be taken to a shelter a few hours later.
(MORE: Preparations Underway as Gulf Coast Braces for Delta)
Officials said about 2,700 people were in shelters in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo, where Cancun and Cozumel are located.
Evacuees at the Technological Institute of Cancun campus, many of them tourists, said the wind started howling around 2 a.m. Power was out and the windows were boarded over.
Video from Mexico's civil protection authority showed heavy rainfall in the district of Benito Juarez, which includes Cancun.
Evacuations began Tuesday morning ahead of the storm.
The Cancun and Puerto Morelos Hotel Association said that about 32,000 tourists needed to be relocated to shelters, according to local news site La Palabra Del Caribe. Shelters were being opened for the more than 1,300 tourists on Cozumel, Radio Cozumel reported.
(MORE: Track Delta With All the Latest Maps)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered 5,000 military personnel to deploy to Quintana Roo and Yucatan ahead of the storm. He also asked residents to heed the advice of local authorities and go to shelters if necessary.
People crowded stores, gas stations and supermarkets Tuesday, stocking up on last-minute supplies.
The country's civil protection agency activated assets, including a mobile communications center.
Delta Air Lines waived change fees for flights departing from or arriving at Cancun International Airport through Thursday. American Airlines did the same for travel through Cancun or Cozumel.
Hurricane Delta comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Gamma, which killed at least six people over the weekend. The worst of the damage was in the state of Tabasco, where about 600,000 people were affected by flooding, according to Mexico News Daily.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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