SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A San Diego woman who recently returned from a trip to Cabo San Lucas says the damage from Hurricane Odile is much more severe than many in the U.S. realize.
Her vacation to Cabo turned into a nightmare when Hurricane Odile hit and damaged her hotel.
Now, she wants others to see the images hoping they will raise awareness about the extent of the destruction.
"We really just sat there and held on....you felt helpless," Julie Hauger said.
Odile hit Cabo the day Julie Hauger was supposed to leave. The storm was bad, but she says what it left behind was worse.
"All of the huts that were outside on the beach were now destroyed, wood had flown all over the place, the pools were filled with sand, debris...it was destruction," Hauger said.
Her resort was completely trashed, but it was on the ride to the airport where the extent of the damage set in. Small businesses were a mess, others completely flattened. Some roads were gone, and in several places there were obvious signs of looting. As for the airport, it looked more like a refugee camp.
"I was told that if I didn't get on an airplane that day we would have to sleep in this field of rubble, with no water, no food. There were pregnant women and elderly, we worked to get them on the pane and I'm sure there's still a lot of people there," Hauger said.
Julie was able to get back, and when she did she felt most Americans she spoke to didn't even know about the hurricane or the damage it caused.
"To see this happen, to something we all hold so dear and not even know that this is going on, it made me really sad," Hauger said.
She hopes the pictures and stories she brought back will inspire those who can to help.
"It's really sad, it's been a hard journey, I know a lot of people are going through it and if there's anything we can do to help out now's the time. It's gonna get hard down there," she said.
