Devastation of a Small City and Help from One Man
In August of 2007, the small fishing village of Majahual, located in the South of Mexico, faced a devastating hurricane. Hurricane Dean passed through Mexico, reaching a Category 5, the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Such storms are capable of causing catastrophic damage. Dean was the first hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic at a Category 5 in 15 years; the last storm to do so was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Dean only strengthened to a Category 5 in less populated areas and so the devastation that towns like Majahual, with a population of about 200 people, are not paid much attention. Storm surge, flooding and strong wind gusts reaching speeds over 200 MPH, reportedly flattened the town of Majahual, taking away not only their homes but their food, fresh water and means of sanitation.
Gilbert Johnson, CEO of College Savings Bank, always wanted to own beach property somewhere in the world. While on vacation, a cab driver gave him a tip about land in the south of Mexico, in Majahual.
“The lots were reasonable, the beaches were beautiful and the people were friendly,” Johnson said.
The entire area of Majahual had been evacuated for the storm and when Johnson arrived in Cancun, the local tourist spot closest to Majahual, he was advised not to attempt to travel down to Majahual. Film crews from CNN that he spoke with were not even going closer than 200 miles of the village because of the land being too dangerous and too small to cover.
Johnson’s real estate agent who had evacuated north to Merida directed him to a woman in California who had the same idea and motivation to help. Together they rented a car and stocked up on food, water, tools and construction supplies while they were in Cancun and went on their way towards Majahual.
After persuading the local military that they were there to help, Johnson and the woman were allowed into the town. Looking around a devastated area, Johnson was hoping to find some type of relief, Red Cross organization, church volunteers, something. But there was nothing. Many Red Cross volunteers had been sent to areas of Jamaica which were affected by Dean, but not so severely; which further motivated Johnson to help.
Johnson spent the next 3 weeks in the small area helping to restore the lives of the people in Majahual. The village, which runs with no electricity and uses solar panels for power, was striped of its resources.
“Places were leveled, there was no water, no solar panels left and no types of bathrooms,” Johnson said.
The shacks that the locals had constructed were torn down to merely the four corner posts and cement houses lost roofs and second floors while first floors were filled with 3-feet of sand that the waves had brought.
Most of Johnson’s nights were spent sleeping in his rental car or on a hammock nailed between two trees. But one night, a local that he had known from his past trips, offered him one of the 8 rooms in his small hotel-like building. The floors were saturated with 6 inches of water. Johnson tried to mop the floors clean, but even after doing so, the mosquitoes kept him from a good nights sleep.
On his way back to Cancun during his last night in Mexico, Johnson stayed in a resort hotel in Playa del Carmen and realized the little things that we take for granted, like fresh water are what you miss most.
“Showering (in Majahual) was basically getting in the ocean,” Johnson said. “I would wear flip flops in the ocean because the bottom was filled with glass and debris from the storm. It was amazing to take a shower after the 3 weeks of being in Majahual.”
This was just one of the small things that Johnson began to notice take a toll on a person when it’s missing. Johnson walked from home to home distributing diapers, feminine products and other things that we don’t realize are so important in a time when you’ve lost everything.
“We would hand out toys and crayons; the kids didn’t understand, they just thought Santa came. But the mothers were so appreciative,” Johnson said.
People slowly began coming back into the town, many just to find a piece of land which used to be their home. On top of the devastation the locals faced, the busy cruise port in Majahual was destroyed.
“The port provided much of their livelihood; selling blankets was a lot of their business and with no cruise port, there’s no selling,” Johnson said. The port was reported to be closed for repair and rebuilding for at least 6 to 8 months, if not a year.
To restore normalcy to the town, Johnson began to organize the locals to clean the roads and rebuild what had been destroyed. The entrance to the city was a sand road covered in rocks and coral that had been washed up by the storm. 2 days of cleaning finally cleared the road. Shoveling sand out of one house took Johnson 3 days. The pipes that were used to collect rainwater for fresh water were all filled with sand and salt water which needed to be cleared and cleaned. Johnson and the people in town all waited for arrivals of fresh water to be brought to the town, but during the three weeks that Johnson spent in Majahual, not one truck arrived.
“Many people from Cancun began dropping off supplies. Shovels, gloves, tools, chainsaws; they had been though hurricanes and understood the needs,” Johnson said.
Having one of the only cars in the area, Johnson traveled around distributing the goods and packing meals of rice and beans in small baggies. Often the locals would cook for him with the little means that they had.
“One woman asked me to bring her a washing machine she found in the jungle. She gutted it and used it for a stove,” Johnson said.
Becoming accustomed to making the best out of nothing is something Johnson became familiar with. Using tools like chainsaws and machetes was all new to him. Taking malaria pills during the duration of the trip and visiting a local doctor when he needed his foot bandaged, were all new experiences to say the least.
“To see something like that, you focus on what is important in life. All the little things that don’t go right in the U.S. that we get so annoyed by, and then to see people that have lost everything, and I mean everything; it was a real eye-opener,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s two pieces of property remained in good condition; although some other property owners from the U.S. weren’t as lucky. When they came to visit after the storm had passed, they found their house was completely gone and Johnson just watched them cry. It is worse for the locals who had also lost their homes, because they didn’t have some of the things which U.S. citizens had, like bank accounts for example. That is the difference which makes all of their possessions simply lost.
“When I left the village, the people hugged me, they cried and thanked me. It really makes you focus on life a lot more,” Johnson said. The experience of helping the people in Majahual was indeed a more personal experience for Johnson since he owned property and visited a few times previously. But nothing makes a story more personal then when you take away the statistics and the numbers and put a face on a town.
The faces of Majahual will always thank Johnson for his efforts in helping them to continue back to their normal lives. Majahual is slowly recovering from August and Johnson plans to return to the city within the next 3 months.
{Images for Mr. Johnson’s trip are available at http://www.collegesavings.com/mexico.html}