Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Anatomy of a flood
I will preface this by saying that we are the fortunate ones albeit material victims.
It's is a treat to visit Mulege any time of year. Should I say, "any year". A lush tropical setting with all the trimmngs, it lures many seeking a
reprieve from all the ever-developing towns that are booming alongs both sides of the peninsula.
Not a secret any more, the playas,bahias and stretches of warm sandy places are going the way of..........well, you know.
Mulege has always been immune to the plastic facades of Los Cabos and the Mainland, and now Rosarito and Loreto.
We all pretty much expect all that happens because we are so used to it homeside.. Jaded. Still, the place exists. Much the way it has been for
decades.
Ok, things may be skewed a bit in Bajq but the interest and concern to "fix it" is obvious.
With that said we go back to Mulege. There are other "Muleges" that resist the modern axe. I have always loved that feature about micro-societies".
The cultural snapshot shows the obvious heritage and tightness in philosophy and continuity within the commmunity..
Things will get better fast. They already have.
Is it odd that so many same-minded folks seek solace and tranquility there. Interestingly, my many visits and chats with others confirm a common
denominattor that draws us there. Why is there a disproportionate amount of U.S. folks that are from the PNW. I always notice that. Same goes for
other towns , they sport their own majority of same-minded individuals be it Canadians, So. Cal, or Arizona affectionados.
I kinda like it. The proverbial "Birds of a feather" thingy again. Be forewarned, I grew uop in So. Cal so............I drive fast!
WTH does this have to do with the anatomy of a flood?
Not talking about the physics but about the personal effects it forces on you and your life.
interestingly; the folks I know (or who I have spoken to or listened to) who basically all reside from Sacramento north have shown a certain
solidarity and exhibited a strong sense of responsibility too, too share in the recovery effort.
I was happy to see some contributions from my homeland but the response from the NW folks was something.
If you have been to Mulege then I speak for you. If you have not, listen to this story. Ah heck , listen anyhoo.
To be continued.............
[Edited on 11-21-2006 by Sharksbaja]
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Stickers
Senior Nomad
Posts: 571
Registered: 4-12-2006
Location: SoCal
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Sharks, how would you compare Newport to Mulege? I know that's a stretch but has development taken its toll up there or has the area remained
authentic PNW. Is it condo town?
The last time I went through Newport was 1971.
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Wonderful words and thoughts.
I have been impressed by Sharks and others who have not doubted for a moment that they would rebuild and help Mulege' do the same. Things will be
wonderful again.
Last year in Mulege;
Took the boat out in the bay and the motor quit. Hitching back to camp, I was picked up by a smiling young mexican man who happily drove me all the
way back to camp and would take no thanks but a handshake.
After having boat problems, I stopped in to meet Bruce and get a recommendation for someone to work on my motor. After very nice conversation, I went
out the road towards the lighthouse and found "the gringo", a middle age mexican living with his family in a simple shack. He worked on the motor,
amazed to see my snap ring plyers and other famcy tools. He fixed it for $20.
As he was working on the motor a white truck drove past with a viking-looking character that I recognized as Pompano. Turns out he had already
searched out our camp and met my wife and kids. An invitation to taste Phyl's cooking and play pool with the sharks was followed by a fantastic meal
and very nice, comfortable conversations.
Next day I went into town to do some wash at the lavamatica and finally got back to camp after doing 5 loads. 1 hour later some folks drove up that I
recognized from the lavamatica. I had left a load in the dryer and these people searched us out based on my description of our camp. A few beers
later, our newest friends left for home.
This is just a sample of our Mulege' experiences. For some reason, everything seems to turn out just fine in Mulege'.
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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that is Mulege slow and friendly
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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My take....
I have never seen the power of a raging flood personally. When I saw photos of our house under water I cringed but held hope for it's survival. The
water crested some 18 feet and left just our large palapa roof visible and out of the torrent of water.
I was warned off from jetting down to Mulege immediately. There was a terrible situation. The flood ripped through our park with speeds guessed at
50-60 mph. It carried large amounts of debris including vehicles, palm trees and propane tanks, cows, horses and everything imaginable. The water was
fouled. It wasn't fit for habitation along the rio.
Our house lies in the narrows of the normally placid river. The small rocky hills drop off right down to the river on the other side and at the back
end of our park. This squeezes all the water running off the mountains into a high pressure nozzle of sorts.
.I arrived 5 weeks after the flood. It was impossible to reach our home. Sanddunes were now in the park and there was a very large gash 3-4ft deep and
30 ft across excavated and full of debris blocking access to the house.
Never fear, I brought a dozer. Well , it's a garden tractor with a full-on 4 ft blade out front. I installed chains on the tires for xtra trction. It
worked it's tail off. I was able to backfill the trench with the remains of our garage and parts of my neighbors house. Oh yeah, my neighbors house.
Nobody liked the yellow and blue paint job. But it was very similar to our home in it's design. It had a large palapa supported by 6 grand columns.
It sported a dining room, family room and 3bed 2 bath. It was nice. Had a loft upstairs and was well groomed.Pretty large home. It looked liked it
was ground zero. It looked as if a 500 lb bomb went off inside. There was nothing left except a pile of rubble.
What happened there is scary. I see the place was short on rebar and the concrete and blocks were easy to break up for removal. The home was enclosed
as opposed to ours. Methinks that added to it's demise. If you see how our casa survived you find clues to it's salvation.
Oh, ours is pretty beat up but it lives. The garage will be replaced with something a tad more substantial and the walls around the perimeter will
have more metal in them.
I would guess in the neighborhood of a hundred yds of debris and sand and mud were deposited in and around our place. On the lee side of the house a
mountain of sand over 7 ft high collected. 3-4 ft in the kitchec, 2-3 ft in the bedroom. And about a foot deep upstairs.
Talk about a mixed blessing. Although we got whacked with the highest velocity, it left little mud there. 95% sand I'd say. That gooey mud downstream
was nasty stuff. When I stood there looking at the destroyed walls I could only imagine what it took to knock them down like dominoes. The wall rocks
were mostly in piles across the yard and down the way. Some 300lb rocks were peeled off the spa. Anything that floated was gone. All the trees save
the palms the others lay flat or were destroyed.
Never could I imagine this pristine mangrove lined paradise transformed into an unrecognizable scene of distruction.
We feel our home survived because of it's open design. The water literally flowed right through. The house next door downstream received huge blows.
Enough to knock the large columns over. The pressure so great on the homes that walls just blew out.
Upstairs in our casa the water was about 3 ft above the floor. The water blew in the door facing upsteam giving the river a direct shot at that rooms
interior. I was just amazed to see a mattress flipped up and thrown up against the wall. The force so great the mattress actually pushed the entire
wall out.
During our excavation it was strange to see items carried in from elsewhere. A squid lure, a clam napkin holder and some other wierd objects. The
crystal stemware was removed and scattered about undamaged in the kitchen in various layers of sand as were plates and kitchen utensils. It seemed as
if someone deftly lifted and placed, intact, fragile items into the debris and sand.
As I wandered around I spotted the 1000 ft of spaghetti tubing I use for drip irrigation. It was 500 ft away from the house 10 ft up in a palm,
tangled and twisted and resembled licorice twists. As would have it, our entire furniture setup for downstairs was stored in the garage. The garage
was also home to boxes and crates of hardware, tools and sporting goods. It was our storage area. What was left were a couple of lag bolts and a few
of the thousands of plumbing parts I had. All else just vanished. Not a sign of anything. Very creepy when I think how the large cabinet full of
chemicals disappeared.
I managed to get the home usable. At least tolerable for now. So much needs to be done still. One more project.
Lessons learned, we will rebuild with more knowledge. We know our place is strong. It was built with much more integrity than most. The builder along
with Bruce Leechs' engineering advise created a structure proven to withstand enormous forces. This is comforting to say the least.
I still think about the way the river changed so much in so little time. My heart goes to all those affected by the event. Many will suffer for a
long time. We also are fortunate to hold clear title. I would absolutely recommend securing clear title to everyone interested in purchacing property
in Mexico. My neighbors testimony to this convinces me.
God bless Mulege for it determination to make things right. A couple days before I left the work crews had cut all the dead mangrove trees along our
stretch leading up the rio to town. The grader was making the river road pliable again and the roads were all usable when I left.
Our flooded home
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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Good luck with future floods etc. Sounds like you've got a solid structure, otherwise it wouldn't be there now. Just got back from the the MS and LA
gulf coasts, about 100 miles of total destruction. All a lot of those folks have to come back to is a cement slab.
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