Hurricane Grace makes a mess of Mexico’s Riviera Maya

TULUM, Mexico —  Hurricane Grace struck Mexico’s Caribbean coast just south of the ancient Maya temples of Tulum on Thursday, tearing the roofs off some homes, knocking out power to thousands and keeping tourists off white sand beaches as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Category 1 storm had already soaked earthquake-damaged Haiti, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands en route to a direct hit on the Riviera Maya, the heart of Mexico’s tourism industry. Grace’s center struck just south of Tulum at 4:45 a.m. CDT with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

As it moved overland, Grace weakened to a tropical storm Thursday afternoon with 50-mph sustained winds. But it was already on the verge of leaving the peninsula and heading into the Gulf of Mexico, where it was expected to regain force. It was centered about 50 miles north-northeast of Campeche and was moving west at 15 mph.

Forecasters said the storm was likely to again be at hurricane strength when it hits the Mexican mainland’s central Gulf coast Friday night or early Saturday.

In Tulum, some families passed harrowing hours sheltering from cracking trees and flying debris.

Around 2 a.m. Thursday, as Grace’s eye churned just offshore, Carlos González grabbed his 1½-year-old son and ran from his home with his wife to a public school converted into a shelter for dozens of families. The light from his cellphone helped them find their way through the dark streets.

“The only thing I have left is what I’m wearing,” the 35-year-old construction worker said. “I knew my house wasn’t going to stand it because it’s made of cardboard. When the wind came I was really scared and decided to leave.”

Miguel Ángel Garcia decided to stay. On Thursday, he used a machete to hack at a tree trunk that had fallen onto his home’s roof.

“The wind came, and they told us we should get to the school, but we didn’t have time because the trees started coming,” said the 33-year-old waiter. “We decided to stay and not go out into the street and leave it up to God.”

Many streets were blocked by fallen branches and trees that pulled down power lines, leaving thousands in the dark.

Most businesses remained closed, but the few that opened saw long lines of residents waiting to buy tortillas and other food.

Quintana Roo Gov. Carlos Joaquín said the storm had knocked out power to about 84,000 customers in Cancun and 65,000 in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Puerto Aventuras and Tulum. But he said there were no reported deaths.

Cancun’s international airport reopened Thursday afternoon.

One lane of the highway between Playa del Carmen and Tulum was blocked by a fallen road sign. A gas station was destroyed when a large pavilion blew down, smashing two cars.

The state had opened shelters and evacuated some hotels and residents ahead of the storm’s arrival. Grace missed the popular cruise ship destination Cozumel and came ashore south of Playa del Carmen, where the downtown, usually thumping with music and clubgoers, was eerily desolate Wednesday night. Authorities had ordered all businesses closed and people inside by 8 p.m.

State authorities said that as of last week, the region was hosting about 130,000 tourists and hotels were more than half full despite the pandemic.