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HomeFeaturesPhotoFeature: Susanville Couple Experiences the Power of Nature First-hand

PhotoFeature: Susanville Couple Experiences the Power of Nature First-hand

Keith and Kristin Volberg surrounded by Hurricane Odile
Keith and Kristin Volberg surrounded by Hurricane Odile

When Hurricane Odile slammed into the Baja Peninsula on September 14th it ended a relaxing vacation for more than 30,000 tourists and set Susanville residents Keith and Kristin Volberg on a course for more adventure than they had bargained for. Despite earlier predictions, the tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 125 mph slammed hard into the Baja Peninsula leaving a wide swath of destruction and chaos all around the Volbergs.

“Hurricane Norbert had just brushed Cabo the week prior to Odile,” explains Kristin Volberg. “Everyone was aware that Odile was out in the Pacific but, even up to the day of the hurricane, no one predicted that it would hit Cabo. They said it would probably veer off to the West and stay in the Pacific.”

Throughout the course of the afternoon the warnings began appearing on television. At the beach crowds were watching the waves grow larger and larger. Surfers packed the water to take advantage of the storm-driven waves.

“Everyone was in a party mood,” said Volberg. “When the sky darkened and it started raining a little we went up to our room. That’s when we first saw the warnings on TV. They said it was a category 4 at that time, with sustained winds of 125 mph.”

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Hurricane Odile was traveling about 15 mph and was on track to hit Cabo later that night. At four o’clock a squall line passed over the resort bringing powerful wind gusts.

“We thought that was scary at the time,” said Kristen, “but it got a lot worse.”

“We actually got a call from the front desk advising us to try and get a taxi to take us to the airport 30 miles away and try to get a flight out.”

The Volbergs quickly gathered their things and headed downstairs where the concierge stopped them and warned them not to leave.

“The concierge advised us to stay where we were.” Kristen explains, “At that point it wasn’t safe to drive anywhere!”

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The nightmare was just beginning for the Volbergs who headed back to their room to ride out the storm. Odile continued to pound the resort growing worse and worse. All around the Susanville couple the building was shaking and it was impossible to hear over the sound of the storm and the constant banging of debris striking the outer walls of the hotel.

“Our ears kept popping from the low pressure,” said Volberg. “The TV advised us to go into the interior bathroom if it got really bad, and I did that.”

At about 10:45pm the eye passed over Cabo and for a short time there was some relief from the battering winds and rain. Then the hurricane’s other side hit Cabo and things got even worse.

“It just kept blowing until about 3:30 in the morning,” said Kristen. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through.”

odile8 odile9 odile10 odile11Hurricane Odile had hit fast and hard killing five people, injuring hundreds and leaving 92% of Cabo’s residents without electricity. Roads and infrastructure were heavily damaged by the severe flooding and powerful thunderstorms that accompanied the hurricane.

“I was able to post on Facebook that we were OK but then we lost all communications. No cell phone or internet, no landlines,” said Volberg.

Keith and Kristen were shocked by the looting they saw in Cabo during the storm and its aftermath. Thousands of locals were parked on both sides of the highway emptying out Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart, loading their cars and trucks with everything they could get their hands on.

“Power poles were down everywhere. Homes and buildings were destroyed. Our resort was one that fared extremely well and they took excellent care of us afterward.”

There were a lot of rumors going around about how to get out of the resort. According to Kristen many people paid huge amounts to taxis to drive them to the airport at San Jose del Cabo. When they arrived they found the airfield devastated and no place to stay.

On the third day the Mexican government began evacuating 30,000 tourists and Keith and Kristen were placed on a list to be taken to the airport.

“I had broken my little finger and am officially a senior citizen so we got priority and were taken that day,” Kristen explains. “When we got to the airport, we were dismayed to see a line about a mile long, in the dirt and baking sun.”

After about three hours the Volbergs were told there were no more flights to the U.S. or Tijuana and that they might be able to get flights to Mexico City or Guadalajara.

“By the way,” adds Kristen,”there were no bathrooms at the airport and people were outside, in the dirt!”

The prospects of sleeping on the ground that night were quickly becoming a reality when Keith heard a man say he had two seats left on the Tijuana flight. No one else heard him. The Susanville couple took off running after the man, passing several hundred people in the line and officials who tried to stop them a couple of times. “We said we were following that man and kept running!”

odile12 odile13 odile14“It was true… we got the last two seats! What a blessing!” said Kristen. “I had gotten down on my knees and prayed the night before for God to get us out!”

The rescue plane, flown by a Mexican airline called Volaris, took the Volbergs to Tiajuana.

“We didn’t have to pay anything,” said Kristin. “We got a taxi to the San Diego airport and Southwest gave us new tickets for the next day.”

“It was all pretty miraculous! We’ve heard horror stories of people who were at the airport for three days. They ran out of food and water and even resorted to attacking a bottled water truck!”

Will Keith and Kristin head to the Baja Peninsula for vacation again? “Maybe, someday,” says Kristin. “We have a timeshare, but we can trade it for other destinations, which sound much more attractive right now!”

Jeremy Couso
Jeremy Couso
SusanvilleStuff.com Publisher/Editor
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