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esperanza

Feb 6, 2010, 8:22 AM

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Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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As many of you already know, the Central Highlands of Mexico have just suffered through a disastrous week of rains, hail, and wind. The most-affected states are Michoacán and the State of Mexico, plus parts of the Distrito Federal.

Eastern Michoacán has been devastated. The town of Angangueo, the jumping-off place for many tours of the monarch butterfly sanctuaries, is destroyed. The main plaza is gone, streets are in ruins, huge trees and walls fell in the storms, homes were destroyed, many people died and more are missing, and rebuilding will take months if not years.

The town of El Rosario, where one of the main sanctuaries is located, has been asked to evacuate and residents are fleeing in whatever ways possible. Rescue crews initially refused to go to El Rosario because of the extreme danger of mud and rock slides; several of the surrounding mountains have huge cracks and more devastation is expected.

The town of Zitácuaro has also been seriously affected.

If you have imminent plans to visit the monarch sanctuaries this season, it would be wise to make certain before you go that they are open to receive tourists. Due to the extreme need for relief for the human residents of nearby towns, nothing has yet been in the media about the conditions of the butterfly reserves. Please, for your own safety, don't go until you know that all is well.

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La Isla

Feb 6, 2010, 9:04 AM

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Re: [esperanza] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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What devastating news, esperanza. It makes the problems from the rain that we've been having in Mexico City seem like nothing at all.

Hound Dog

Feb 6, 2010, 10:04 AM

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Re: [esperanza] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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Eastern Michoacán has been devastated. The town of Angangueo, the jumping-off place for many tours of the monarch butterfly sanctuaries, is destroyed. The main plaza is gone, streets are in ruins, huge trees and walls fell in the storms, homes were destroyed, many people died and more are missing, and rebuilding will take months if not years.

That´s terrible news, Esperanza. We are heartsick at what has happened to this unique historic town and its people and other parts of Eastern Michoacan. This is hard to imagine.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Feb 6, 2010, 10:05 AM)

esperanza

Feb 6, 2010, 11:04 AM

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Re: [Hound Dog] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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For those of you who read Spanish, here are some stories from this morning's La Voz de Michoacán. There are photos on that website as well.

http://www.vozdemichoacan.com.mx/...egional/G004991.html

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tonyburton / Moderator

Feb 6, 2010, 12:13 PM

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Re: [esperanza] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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This is really appalling news. Until five or six years ago, I had visited Angangueo and El Rosario regularly (sometimes several times a year) every year since my first visit in 1970. At the time of that first visit in 1970, I had students mapping the abandoned houses in the town, since the town had fallen on hard times since its mining glory days (partly due to a serious mine accident) and many residents had abandoned Angangueo to look for work elsewhere.
After the early 1970s, as the location of the Monarch butterfly sanctuaries became known, Angangueo once again became a boom town - this time for tourism.
I can't help but wonder whether the continued exploitation (legal and illegal) of the forests in the area has played a contributory role in the severity of the damages wrought by the recent storms.
I sincerely hope that the area can recover quickly from the disastrous series of events that has unfolded during the last week or so.
Visiting the Butterfly Reserves. Esperanza is right to suggest that all visitors planning to visit the Monarch Butterfly sanctuaries check fully in advance. The news reports suggest that it will be quite some time before the Ocampo-El Rosario access is re-opened to regular traffic. If you are planning to visit the butterflies in the next couple of weeks, then you would almost certainly have better luck accessing the Sierra Chincua reserve (access is from a point a few kilometers north of Angangueo). Tony

esperanza

Feb 8, 2010, 10:04 AM

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Re: [tonyburton] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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La Voz de Michoacán reports this morning that the entire town of Angangueo has been evacuated. In Angangueo alone, more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed. More than 25,000 people are homeless. As of yesterday, water was still running in the now-ruined streets of Angangueo.

El Rosario, the town closest to the butterfly sanctuaries, was evacuated late last week.

Risks in the area include mud and boulder slides. No word has been published about the condition of the monarch reserves. Human safety and well-being is the primary concern at the moment.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

esperanza

Feb 13, 2010, 8:13 AM

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Re: [esperanza] Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

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For an updated report on conditions at the monarch butterfly reserves, please read the Mexico Cooks! article for February 13:
http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/...oac%C3%A1n-2010.html

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

(This post was edited by esperanza on Feb 13, 2010, 9:41 AM)