Seawater entered homes in Puerto San Carlos, in Comondú, Baja California Sur, during the passage of Hurricane Polo. In the neighborhoods of Alcatraz and Nueva Fondeport, one of the most populated areas of this fishing community, the inhabitants faced, as a year ago, floods and the risk of losing their heritage.
For Miguel Ángel Lizarraga, a local fisherman, what happened was a danger that could be anticipated. The containment board had been reinforced approximately 20 days before the meteorological phenomenon; however, the water overflowed again.
“We saw it coming, the danger that was coming,” said the fisherman, who recalled that floods have occurred on different occasions and that affected families must start over after losing part of their belongings.
The emergency revived a demand that residents have been raising for years: to build a permanent infrastructure that protects the coastal front of Puerto San Carlos, instead of relying on land reinforcements that, according to testimonies, have not prevented water from entering.
In October 2025, after the wall collapsed during the effects of hurricane Priscilla, the Comondú City Council announced an initial investment of between 5 and 6 million pesos to rebuild and reinforce the border with hydraulic concrete and stone.
Less than a year later, the floods again affected the population.
A wall that fails again in the face of cyclones
The containment board of Puerto San Carlos was originally built by the villagers themselves during the 1950s. Since then, it has received reinforcement work to deal with the effects of tropical cyclones, storm surges and the ingress of seawater.
On October 9, 2025, during the effects of Hurricane Priscilla, the wall collapsed due to high tide, allowing seawater to enter homes near the coast.
According to the history of Civil Protection and the actions reported by the authorities, the Mexican Army activated Plan DN-III-E to address the emergency. The measures included the installation of a temporary wall of 120 linear meters, the removal of Puerto Tampico street and the relocation of five families to a hostel at Technical High School number 4.
However, for the inhabitants, emergency interventions do not represent a definitive solution.
Miguel Ángel Lizarraga pointed out the danger faced by families due to floods. “The inhabitants of Puerto San Carlos have already suffered several times because we have been flooded and then the population loses its heritage. They're starting from scratch again,” he said.
The 6 million pesos announced for the stone wall
After the collapse of October 2025, the municipal president of Comondú, Roberto Pantoja Castro, announced an initial investment of between 5 and 6 million pesos to rebuild and reinforce the retaining wall of Puerto San Carlos.
In statements made on October 14, 2025, the mayor indicated that the project contemplated the use of hydraulic concrete and stone, with the support of the State Government.
Pantoja Castro said he had called on construction companies to submit executive projects and begin work immediately, with priority in the areas most affected by high tide.
“Yes, to be clear that on our part prevention is a commitment to reinforcing that concrete wall,” said the municipal president.
The mayor also recognized that protection works could not guarantee total safety against natural phenomena and called on families living in risky areas to move to safe places during contingencies.
However, in the face of the Polo floods, the fishermen once again raised the need for permanent work to protect the community.
A fishing community that loses its heritage
Floods not only pose a risk to homes in Puerto San Carlos, they also threaten the economic activities of a town whose population depends heavily on fishing.
Lizarraga described Puerto San Carlos as an area of great economic importance for the municipality of Comondú and for the fishing sector of Baja California Sur.
The fisherman explained that the community has infrastructure for the processing and storage of fish products, so he considered it necessary for the authorities to allocate greater resources to their protection.
“It's very important to the producers here in Puerto San Carlos and the truth is that they do need to bet on San Carlos,” he said.
Saúl González Núñez, secretary general of the state government, reported that around 700 people from San Carlos had to be transferred to shelters.
A pending coastal protection project
In addition to reinforcing the border, the inhabitants of Puerto San Carlos have proposed the construction of a stone structure along the coastal front, to contain the ingress of water and reduce damage to homes.
Fishermen pointed out that about 10 years ago a project was proposed in which young architects from the community participated but, according to their testimony, it did not come to fruition.
Currently, they propose to build a concrete retaining wall and a boardwalk in the stretch between the National Port System Administration pier and Punta Palapas, in order to combine the protection of the population with the recovery of the coastal front.
“For us, we could really use a retaining wall, but well made of concrete, with a good project, that also gives San Carlos something beautiful, a boardwalk, something like Loreto. And besides, protect the population,” said Miguel Ángel Lizarraga.
The fisherman also called for existing boards to be raised and reinforced, although he considered that these actions should be part of a comprehensive project.
Meanwhile, families are recounting their losses following the passage of Hurricane Polo.
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