BajaNomad - 9-19-2014 at 07:28 PM
By Andrew S.E. Erickson; U.S. Consul General, Tijuana.
Sep 19, 2014
Baja California Sur, its residents, and many visitors had a tough week with Hurricane Odile, but with the storm gone and people out of immediate
danger we can now focus on the future. Today I've had many inquiries about how best to help down there, and in more than a few cases I've had people
report that they've already packed up their cars and trucks and are ready to cross the border and drive down Highway One and deliver the assistance
themselves. I am here to tell you that's not a great idea -- it's an honorable one, but it's going to generate a lot of problems.
U.S. citizens wishing to provide charitable assistance to victims in Baja Sur should note that complicated customs and clearance requirements govern
such assistance if originating abroad. The most efficient way to provide assistance and disaster relief is through cash combinations to the charity of
your choice, earmarked for Hurricane Odile disaster relief.
There's another issue here -- and it's an important one. Baja California's Highway One has suffered a lot from the hurricane. Chunks of the road were
washed out in many places, there are dirt road detours around washes, and in some areas the road just doesn't exist anymore at all right now. This is
not a good time to be using this road. In addition to gasoline and food shortages along the highway, the sheer wear-and-tear on the road that will
result from heavy use in the next couple of months is going to do a lot of damage and require expensive repair while impeding Baja's recovery.
It's a wonderful thing to want to help Baja Sur. Do it by writing a check to your favorite charity working on hurricane relief there. It will have far
more impact, be logistically far easier, and make rebuilding Baja Sur happen all the more quickly. And I think we agree that is a goal we all share.
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