Five year anniversary of Jova

Today, the 12th of October, is the Five-year anniversary of hurricane Jova. Totally devastating to crops and the people. I was house sitting near the canal that overflowed and my car ended up half covered in water. A month later I got the car back not totally complete but ran well. Amazing how much worse it was compared to Patricia last year. Jova was water and Patricia was wind.

Another Jova or two ??

With 5 hurricanes expected to affect Mexico's Pacific Coast this year, Secretary General Arturo Zamora Jimenez recently met with Jalisco emergency services representatives to discuss preventive operations.

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - Towns all along the Mexican Pacific Coast are 'battening down the hatches' in preparation for this year's hurricane season, which is predicted to be rather stormy.

Since 2014 will be unique in terms of maritime phenomena, with five high intensity hurricanes expected to affect the Mexican Pacific Coast this year, Mexico's Secretary General Arturo Zamora Jimenez recently met with Jalisco State security and emergency representatives to discuss preventive alerts and operations to be undertaken by all municipalities along the coast.

"...above all, we must prepare for the heavy rains that will result from the five Mexican Pacific cyclones that the State Water Commission has predicted will impact our coastal towns," Zamora Jimenez said.

Puerto Vallarta Prepares for 2014 Hurricane Season

Conagua

Ol' swimming hole dam

This was on a Sunday trip to two dams up the Marabasco river. This dam is the first just past Cihuatlan and is a diversion dam for irrigation. One side goes to Colima and the other to Jalisco. What this dam does for people wanting to relax and cool off on the weekends is creating several swimming holes both above and below.

Spending a day here used to be a much more regular thing until Hurricane Jova came through in 2011 and swept away all the shade trees and changed the whole river bed. The swimming holes are coming back but there is no shade to speak of. Be smart and bring your own if plan to stay the day like many do.

Irrigation dam from below

Can't see the dam from above

Good swimming behind the dam

Lake behind dam

Halfway up the valley to second dam

Wide but very shallow 

The end of the season for many

My two neighbors from up north who both own homes here are starting to pack up and close up for the return north. A few more friends that rent for the season have left or will this weekend. Looks like I'll continue being the school bus driver, make a weekly trip to Cihuatlan to shop, use the pool with neighbors, fix broken things around the house and see what kind of weather hurricane season brings. The tropical weather warnings websites will start up in mid-May.

Coming back from school the other evening we saw this young burro with his mom. I asked the owner how many months old and he said "days". They don't waste time getting around.

Also ran across one of the most dramatic fotos of hurricane Jova in Barra. They'll have even less beach this year to protect them so hopefully the big ones will pass us by.

Four day old burro

Hurricane Jova in Barra

Cuzalapa again for coffee

Took a drive up to Cuzalapa again a few days ago with neighbors. They had never been there and I needed coffee to take north to family. Except for the hundreds of large potholes between highway 80 and Cuautitlán it was a pleasant drive and a lot cooler beyond La Huerta.

I'd heard that the bridge was not repaired that collapsed with Jova but they had propped up one end of it. Large vehicles and people afraid of the bridge were still using the river level crossing.

I had called ahead the day before and they had 8 bags waiting. The Coop has a new stucco and paint job on the front and they are tiling the floors inside.  We stopped by the river for the kids and over all an enjoyable day.  I didn't even have dreams of dodging potholes that night. 

Spent more than enough time putting fotos in a "table"

Boca de Iguanas beach

Boca de Iguanas beach access was cut off for a few months after hurricane Jova. The beach trail was washed out and the trailer park wasn't letting people pass thru their property. I was up in La Manzanilla the other day and decided to see what was going on at Boca beach.

They brought in a lot of new fill to create a road/trail ... even tho motor vehicles are prohibited. Easy to walk out and wide enough you don't have to worry about the resident Cocodrilo, Pancho. The beach concession is back with tables, chairs, food and beer.

New beach access

Beach concession

Behind Cihuatlan - up the river

We drove up the Marabasco river valley the other day as far as you can go to the larger dam site (Presa El Naranjo). Lots of work going on there but mostly cleanup and repairs from the rain from Jova. They gave the impression there were no tours like I'd had before so we just took the road to the right outside the gate that leads towards the river.

Down stream you can see the results of the massive amount of water that came down that valley. The access road was closed for over a week while they cleaned it up. The diversion dam area does not look the same at all .... all swimming holes gone and shade trees are down. Totally rebuilding the irrigation canals that feed from the diversion dam

Future dam opening with rocks from up river

Diversion dam

Behind the diversion dam

Rebuilding the irrigation canals

Video of Presa El Naranjo after Hurricane Jova

Some dam construction fotos from about 2 years ago

Hurricane Jova Video

This video was made by a Storm Chaser and was taken in Emiliano Zapata which is about 50 kilometers north of Melaque. The winds there were much stronger than I experienced in Melaque. Good video

 

From iCyclone.com: Footage from the violent inner core of Hurricane Jova as it raked Emiliano Zapata, Jalisco, Mexico on 11-12 October 2011. The wind starts to really pick up at 2:29, steadily building to a ferocious climax at 4:26.

Stove made of clay or barro

One of the benefits of hurricane Jova (I guess) was all the mud like clay it brought down from the hills. Eventually the mud must break down and become decent soil because this is a very fertile valley. I wasn't nearly so happy with the mud/clay that filled every space in my car.

However my neighbor knew the value when he built this stove of brick covered with clay. The clay hardens like in a kiln near the fire and the rest hardens in the sun. I was over looking at his hammocks and thought the stove very ingenious

Clay stove in Pinal Villa near Melaque Mexico

I survived Jova

Not literally ... but early the morning after neighbors were waving to each other from their second floors just like you see in the flood disaster videos.

The wind woke me about 4am, I checked my car and there was only about 6 inches of water around it. I went to the unfinished upstairs to watch the storm for about an hour and a half and when I came downstairs I noticed water in the patio. I thought the pool had over flowed but then noticed the water was brown. Took another look at my car on the street and water was up on the hood ... too late to move it. Headed back to the bedroom and noticed water coming in from the garage. Since I had not prepared my pile of sandbags I had to sit and watch the house fill with a foot and a half of water and mud. I spent the rest of the night upstairs waiting for daylight. Closest thing to a flash flood I can imagine without a wall of water. Only took two hours for water to overflow the canal by 5-6 feet.

About 9am a few families started to walk out when the water had reached waist height and the bridge was passable. I waited till noon and headed for Vern and Elke's where I am to this day. My car got towed to a auto cleaning place yesterday and will head to a mechanic Monday. The neighbors are cleaning the house I was "sitting" and most of the houses in the area have cleaning crews in them.

So I'm actually quite lucky but many home owners NOT. My house in Pinal Villa was not affected except the access road is pretty bad. Lots of road closures in Jalisco and Colima. The Marabasco river overflowed and flooded Cihuatlan ... and actually cut a channel to the Barra lagoon which became a river mouth.

 

 

Cleanup efforts are massive here and emergency food is being brought in by the military. Spirits are surprisingly high and the sun is out

Families walk out as water receded

What the area looked like about 9am

Hurricane Jova experience in Melaque