For Hurricane Patricia, the designated shelters were the elementary school (pretty much wide open, near the arroyo) and somewhere in Jaluco, I think. However, in a town where most families use motos as their primary form of transportation, no public buses or other vehicles were provided to take people inland or to higher ground.
I remember that the power had already gone out and the winds were howling when a man from Proteccion Civil came to my door, dripping wet in a yellow raincoat. He told me that there was a mandatory evacuation order, and that I had to leave immediately. "But I only have a bicycle and lots of pets," I answered. "Where would we go, and how would we get there?" "Buen punto. Buena suerte," he replied, and left me to my own devices.
So how would we, the townsfolk, even begin to create a "foresight plan" like the one on the Oregon coast?
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