page_title: Hurricane Jimena (2009)
section_title: Baja California Sur
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Jimena (2009) / Impact / Baja California Sur
caption_attribution_description: English: Jimena as a weak hurricane inland Baja California.
context_page_description: Hurricane Jimena was the second-strongest hurricane of the 2009 Pacific hurricane season, and tied with Hurricane Norbert as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on western portion of the Baja California Peninsula. Forming from a tropical wave late on August 28, 2009, off of Mexico's Pacific coast, the system rapidly intensified into a Category 2 hurricane on the next day. Two days after developing, Jimena strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. After peaking close to Category 5 intensity on September 1, it encountered cold water and began to weaken. When the hurricane made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula on September 3, it was only a Category 2 hurricane. On the next day, the tropical cyclone entered the Gulf of California, though the storm weakened into a remnant low after looping back eastward towards Baja California. The storm's remnants drifted westward into the Pacific afterward, before dissipating on September 8.
  When the storm made landfall, Jimena caused $173.9 million USD in damage. The system killed four people across the peninsula.
context_section_description: When the tropical cyclone passed over the Baja California Peninsula, storm chasers in Puerto San Carlos reported a minimum pressure of 973 mb (hPa; 28.73 inHg). Ciudad Constitucion reported peak winds of 71 mph (114 km/h), with a peak gust of 90 mph (140 km/h), and a statewide peak of 13.12 in (333 mm). A secondary peak rainfall occurred at Santa Rosalía. However, no reports of storm surge or storm tide were received by the National Hurricane Center.
  When the storm was over, Jimena's winds and heavy rain brought devastation across the Baja peninsula. One man was reported killed in Mulegé. Most of the homes and businesses there received extensive damage and water was 24 in (610 mm) deep. Damage there was considered worse than Hurricane John in 2006. One bridge in Mulege was under 6 ft (1.8 m) of water. The downtown area of Santa Rosalía was severely damaged with flash floods. Hurricane-force winds battered the area for hours before diminishing to 45 mph (72 km/h) the next day. Water supplies ran low and two bridges were washed out. In a nearby canyon, floodwaters washed out many cars and livestock.
  In Cabo San Lucas, Jimena produced little damage. However, the entire town of Punta Chivato were flooded and damaged, with some being destroyed. In addition, 75% of homes were damaged in Puerto San Carlos, and power was lost in many areas including Comondú and Loreto. In the town of Puerto Lopez Mateos, half of the cannery buildings were destroyed and every wood home was destroyed, thus leaving a quarter of the population homeless. Nearby, the storm nearly destroyed two isolated villages, Punta Abreojos village and Laguna San Ignacio. Both areas got hit by Jimena at its first landfall. Although in Bahia Asuncion damages was minor, the villages of Abreojos and San Ignacio Lagoon were badly damaged. Seventy percent of the electric network form Santa Rosalía to Ciudad Constitución was damaged due to power outages. In both of the towns, the Mexican Red Cross branches received some damage. The roads from San José del Cabo to Tijuana was affected because any nearby creeks overflowed their banks. The airports in Los Cabos, La Paz and Loreto and ports were briefly closed, but were later re-opened after the storm passed since the airports received only minimal damage.
  A total of 35,000 people were reported homeless and  hit 29 transmission lines in the cites Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, La Paz and Ciudad Constitución affecting 50,000 customers. The worst was in the former, with a total of 27,000 customers affected and 17 transmission lines. Severe damage also occurred in the agricultural sector; 400 hectares of citrus was lost, 80  hectares of greenhouses was destroyed. Losses in the sector were estimated to be at least MXN$500 million (US$37.3 million). Damages to infrastructure amounted to MXN$300 million (US$12.5 million). Total losses related to Hurricane Jimena reached 2.3 billion pesos ($173.9 million). Local water authorities reported that 14,000 people were waterless, because eight pipelines broke. The worst damage occurred in the aqueduct in Santa Rosalía. The officials estimated that the repair would cost about $652,224. A total of 72,000 people were affected and four people were reported dead.
caption: Hurricane Jimena over Baja California Peninsula on September 2
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