Update 7: Watch the Flood Update Video at El Guamuchil here. A community united against adversity.
Update 6: Watch the Sayulita Flooding Update Video here. See how people are dealing with the flood and hear their stories.
Update 5: Highway 200 from Bucerias to Sayulita, as well as the alternate route around Punta de Mita and on to Sayulita are still closed. Authorities are urging people not to try to wait in line for the roads to open. The line of cars on Highway 200 is stretched back to the La Cruz turnoff by Bucerias. Authorities are trying to help people park on the shoulders of the highway to avoid chaos and allow repair crews to fix the roads. People trying to get to Sayulita, San Pancho, Lo de Marcos and northward have the choice of taking a water taxi to Sayulita and taking a taxi from there. Water taxis are available in Nuevo Vallarta. In Punta de Mita, pangas are available for hire, but water taxi licenses are non-existent for Punta de Mita. As far as PV Pulse knows you may need to hire the whole panga and subdivide the costs amongst your party. Fees for the water taxis from Nuevo to Sayulita are $30 dollars at Paradise Village. Stay tuned.
Update 4: On Monday, after a few hours of unusually intense early-afternoon rain, local authorities decided to stop all traffic at two points – the Sayulita-Bucerias stretch on Highway 200 and the Sayulita-Higuera Blanca stretch on the alternate route. North-south traffic from these points is stopped until further notice.
Update 3: Life continues in San Pancho today - Monday, September 6th - as authorities and crews managed to set up a pedestrian bridge (see picture below) to grant access by foot in and out of San Pancho. Vehicles will not be able to leave or enter San Pancho until the bridge is repaired. No timeline for vehicular access has been issued.
Update 2: On Sunday, September 5th: At Km 125 on Highway 200, a large landslide covered both sides of the road. Traffic is being re-routed from Sayulita, towards Punta de Mita, through La Cruz, and continuing on to Bucerias. Bahia de Banderas Mayor Hector Paniagua commented that the water washed away at the foundations of the highway, and that it will require major repairs. No timeline is available as of now. Until the road is repaired, all traffic will have to divert to Punta de Mita to cross this area.
Update 1: Watch our flood update video here.
* * *
As a result of the continued rains in Riviera Nayarit this morning, the San Pancho Bridge collapsed. Witnesses say that the flow of water swept several Huanacaxtle trees towards the bridge last night. The bridge finally gave way after sustaining enormous pressure from the water and debris that continually pushed against it.
Bahia de Banderas Mayor Hector Paniagua was present at the scene this morning and explained that they will attempt to build a pedestrian bridge as soon as possible to re-establish communication with San Pancho. People were urged to stay clam and to stay away from the edge of the river due to concerns of more landslides.
Gerardo Navarrete from Riviera Tours commented that people getting in to San Pancho hotels or leaving to catch their flights were taking pangas, or water taxis, from San Pancho to Sayulita and vice-versa. He also explained that the road from Sayulita to Punta de Mita had been affected by landslides and that crews there were trying to open the road for larger vehicles to cross.
Veronica Vanin from Fabio and Veronica in San Pancho mentioned that her child's school is across the bridge on the other side of the road. She is assuming that they will spend some days at home and she is preparing for that. In the meantime, she is babysitting the children of some friends who went to a wedding in Chacala. She said she phoned them last night and told them not to come pick the children up because the bridge was gone. “They will need to get a panga to come pick up their children,” she said. At the end of our conversation Veronica mentioned that they are calm, they understand that this is mother nature’s doing, and they will wait to see how she decides to play things out and follow suit.
The community of El Guamuchil is also cut off from communication, as their bridge is also inaccessible due to its ramps being washed out by the water flow.
The restaurant La Laguna in Nuevo Vallarta is now part of the lagoon as the lagoon overflowed. The restaurant's tables and kitchen are all standing in about a foot and a half of water.
In Puerto Vallarta, streets were flooded in the Villa de Guadalupe, Bobadilla and la Floresta neighborhoods. Landslides were reported on Highway 200 south of Puerto Vallarta at El Nogalito and Garza Blanca obstructing one lane of the highway. In the 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a power line and its post were down.
