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Norm
Junior Nomad
Posts: 82
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: AUBURN CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: GOOD!!!!!
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FLOOD AT LA PAZ MINI STORAGE
OK NOMADS !! WE NEED SOME HELP HERE !!!!!!
THER WAS A DAM THAT BROKE SOME PLACE NEAR THE LAPAZ AIRPORT ??? THE FLOOD WATER CAME IN AND BROKE DOWN THE WALL AT LA PAZ MINI STORAGE.. JIM &
GLORIA ARE VERY SAD & THERE PLACS IS A MESS !! DO ANY OF YOU THAT ARE NEAR ~~JESS ~~ MAY ANY OF YOU THAT HAVE THE TIME GO OUT AND SEE JIM , HE
NEEDS SOME HELP !! OUR PLACE IS NEXT DOOR , WE GOT SOME WATER ?? BUT ALL IS OK I THINK... WHERE IN THE HELL IS THIS DAM ??? I KNOW THERE IS A LOT OF
NOMADS THAT USE THIS FOR THERE STORAGE ...
NORM & SUE
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BajaBruno
Super Nomad
Posts: 1035
Registered: 9-6-2006
Location: Back in CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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I'll be happy to help--I know where that storage place is, but I don't know Jim & Gloria. Give me some directions and tell me what I can do.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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Norm, what kind of help are you asking for here?? Physical labor to help get things cleaned up?? Emotional support?? I heard that
the place is a real mess & know several people who had all their possessions stored there & most if not all is destroyed...including large
travel trailers & vehicles. +4' of mud inside the units!! I sincerely doubt that all who have/had things in storage there know yet of their
losses. I have heard that Jim carried insurance, but am not clear if that insurance was just on his property, or on the possessions of his customers.
And I did hear that Jim sustained a multiple break in an arm in his attempts to minimize the property losses that were incurred due to the dam being
opened. Evidently the powers that be don't understand the wisdom of a slow/gradual release!!!!
Since you seem to have more information than I do, it might be wise to say specifically what kind of help is needed. I tired to get out there
yesterday & couldn't get into the storage lot, and I know others who have 4-WD did get down there, but the major devastation overwhelmed them
& they left.
There was a posting on the Henriette thread that mentioned the arroyo in Fidipaz was running wide & deep & that it was an intentional release
of the water in the dam, not a break!! Evivdently the State Police were notified & closed the hwy at that point prior to the release. That
arroyo & the area where the storage unit is near the airport is quite a distance apart...I'd say 3-4 miles...but all downhill from the mountains,
so I guess it is conceivable! I'm amazed that both these areas were effected so badly by the release of the dam.
This is kinda disjointed, but if you could give some feedback on specifics of what would be helpful to Jim & Gloria & the rest of the people
who had things stored there, it might be easier to organize efforts, rather than just having people show up there blind.
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Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Offline
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We are waiting anxiously. I'm sure lots of others beside me have things stored there too.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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Talked with Jim and they are in desperate need of help to get things dug out, cleaned & whatever volunteer help is offered, they'll take! I took
pics, but can't reduce them, so I've downloaded them to BajaBruno & he'll reduce & post some of them.
It's bad!! The pics will only tell part of the story. Many people have lost all or most of their possessions, family photographs & in many
instances all the furniture & artwork they brought down here to furnish new casas not yet completed. It appears that the storage facility acted
like a breakwater for several small Mexican homes downstream by absorbing & diffusing most of the force of what had to be a huge wall of water!
I'm going back Monday morning to help answer the office phones & speak with any English-speaking callers.... Jim said the office gals have been
overwhelmed with English-speaking callers & only one speaks any English.
If you look closely at the pics, you can see high water marks on most of the vehicles, trailers, boats & individual storage unit doors. All of
the doors with curled bottom edges were running parallel with the water flow! You'll also see all the cars & trailers & boats under covered
parking were lifted & driven/floated/swept into the vehicle next to them! The open vehicle parking is positioned so that the water hit from the
direction they were parked, as opposed to from the side.
A Mexican friend said that news reports on TV have said that customers were responsible for insuring their own possessions. I doubt that most insured
their possessions in storage units....cars, boats & trailers, possibly, HOPEFULLY!! From what I saw, I'd guesstimate that most storage units will
have 3-4' of mud inside & only things higher than that will be salvageable, for the most part.
Jim is desperate for strong backs that are willing to donate some time to help in many, many ways.
I'll warn you now, douse yourself good with bug repellant!!! The mosquitoes are out in full force....even in the sun!
Hopefully BajaBruno will be posting his own personal comments shortly, if he's not typing then as I type.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Alan
We are waiting anxiously. I'm sure lots of others beside me have things stored there too. |
Alan, if you want to U2U me your unit # or give me a location if you had a vehicle parked there, I'll find out what I can tomorrow & U2U back to
you. I'm so sorry!
Same goes for any others who have things stored there...I honestly hope that you don't see you vehicles/trailers/boats in any of my
pics! Give me a unit number and the name the storage is contracted under and I'll find out as much as I can & get back to you. Right now, I'm at
a loss because I'm making several assumptions....I assume locks on units are personal locks rather than facility-issued, so seeing inside would be a
problem. And I'm assuming that they have records cross-referenced by name as well as unit number, if you've forgotten your unit information.
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow
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Just got back also mostly what he needs right now is help moving stuff out of his house so that it can be made livable. The south wall is about 90%
down and all of the storage units there are gone! He has hired a guard to keep everything that is exposed secure. I think its impossible at this time
to assess the damage inside the storage sheds that were not destroyed.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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Thanks Comitan...you KNOW I'm directionally challenged! North is up...South is down...East is my right hand....West is my left! Just don't spin me
around or all my fine sense of direction is lost! The water went from the airport towards the highway!!
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BajaBruno
Super Nomad
Posts: 1035
Registered: 9-6-2006
Location: Back in CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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I think the "dam" that was spoken of was the south wall that Comitan mentioned. My guess is that water built up behind it and when it collapsed
(totally unreinforced block wall by all appearances) it acted as a breaking "dam" and released all its water to innundate the facility-- probably not
long by the looks of the erosion holes around the posts, but enough water to cause a lot of damage.
The mud level was not high. The water level looks like </=3 feet, but it was muddy water.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#1
La Paz Mini Storage
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BajaBruno
Super Nomad
Posts: 1035
Registered: 9-6-2006
Location: Back in CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy
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Way to go, Legs! I had faith.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#2
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#3
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#4
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#5
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#6
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#7
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#8
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#9
La Paz Mini Storage
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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#10
La Paz Mini Storage
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