An exhaustive search of the tourist zones and Old Mazatlan (Historic Center) done by Mazatlan Interactivo shows no appreciable damage

Mazatlan , Mexico , 19th of September, 2006: Mazatlan Interactivo carried out a search and review of the tourist zones and downtown Old Mazatlan within 24 hours of the passing of hurricane Lane, the hurricane that slammed the Sinaloa coast on Saturday the 16th. This corroborated what Alfredo Galaviz Solis, head of Civil Protection, said earlier relative that Mazatlan is undamaged and ready to receive tourists.

The review of the town began in the area of the lighthouse, passed through downtown Old Mazatlan, continued through the commercial zone and ended up north of town at Cerritos beach. No major damage or flooding was seen along the 15 mile inspection and some tourists were even seen relaxing and having fun in restaurants in the areas.

Solis, the new head of Civil Protection, said yesterday in Mazatlan Interactivo that no reportable damages were incurred in the infra and superstructures of the tourism business and that all basic services (phone, gas, water, electricity) were functioning. He also added that both city hotel associations reported zero damage.

The airport is fine and going as usual. The official spokesman of the airport said that all flights have been punctual and that on Saturday it had only closed for 3 hours as a precaution.

We can report that no hotels were damaged and only a few billboards had fallen, along with several trees and that no major flooding had occurred. We think that the billboards fell not from the high winds, but rather from age and neglect and in the long run it could benefit the city once they are cleaned up.

The owner of the Siesta Hotel, Jaime Coppel, assured us that Mazatlan seemed as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the tourist zones and that the town was ready to receive guests and tourists. He told them not to let themselves be surprised by conflicting reports that Mazatlan had suffered serious damage since the news is referring to outlying zones that the tourist never sees. He asked us to spread the positive word about Mazatlan and to give a real evaluation of the tourist situation here.