City Reaches Out to Sister City, Devastated by Category 3 Hurricane

From the city of Laguna Beach:

After the devastation from Hurricane Odile last month, there is an ongoing need for supplies and monetary donations to the area to help restore and rebuild in Laguna Beach’s sister city, San José Del Cabo.

Councilman Kelly Boyd volunteered to be the council liaison and serve on the Hurricane Odile committee to evaluate the distribution of funds. Boyd also served with past

Mayor Jane Egly on the LBSCA Future Sister Cities committee, which officially selected San José Del Cabo a Sister City and St. Ives a Friendship City, the latter which recently became their third Sister City.

With the $2,500 city donation (the residual amount left in the community assistance grant fund), monies raised to date total $10,500 to assist with the recovery efforts in San José del Cabo. The estimated insurance claims to date, not including small businesses and local homeowners, is approximately $900 million.

“The Category 3 hurricane destroyed homes, businesses and caused widespread damage throughout San José Del Cabo,” said Karyn Philippsen, president of LBSCA. “The citizens suffered a massive amount of destruction and it will take a long time for the recovery effort to be completed, which is why we are so grateful that the City Council approved granting these much needed funds.”

Local resident and horticulturist Ruben Flores, owner of Laguna Beach Nursery, has a residence down in San José Del Cabo, and visited there five days after the hurricane hit.

“It was quite unsettling. With the airport closed, we had to fly into La Paz two hours away and drive in and doing so, viewed so much devastation,” Flores said. “Close to Cabo, a military presence was there to help prevent looting. Once I got to my complex, I saw individual homes and buildings torn and trashed. What were incredible palm trees and gardens looked like matchsticks. But I needed to see for myself. No lights were anywhere ... no electricity, no running water. We had quite a bit of damage, but not nearly as bad as some other locations. For me it was cathartic – to touch and feel what was the aftermath and to realize what was bearing down.

“Once I took in my own circumstances, I wanted to see how we could help the neighboring areas. There will be a contingency of hotels back up and running, although some may stay closed throughout the holidays. Most of the general populous is out of a home and out of a daily place to reside. These are the people we want to reach out to – those with a meager subsistence. That’s what Sister Cities is all about.”

Flores is spearheading a housing rebuilding effort in San José Del Cabo called Club Dust.

PHOTO Patch file photo credit: Mirna Alfonso.

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