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Riviera Maya removes 350 tons of sargassum after passing of Cristobal

Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — Dozens of people spent a portion of the weekend removing tons of sargassum that hit Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen beaches after the passing of tropical depression Cristóbal.

Brigades of city council staff and volunteers joined in the cleaning efforts, said Puerto Morelos mayor, Laura Fernández Piña.

“This weekend, we were focused on removing around 200 tons of the macro algae that we estimate landed on our coasts due to the climatic phenomenon that affected the Yucatan Peninsula in recent days and that, in the municipality, also caused waterlogging due to the intense rains and fallen trees on public roads and in private properties due to strong gusts of wind,” said the mayor.

She commented that on Sunday alone, almost 100 people joined the cleaning efforts including around 40 elements of the municipal police. “Workers from other dependencies of the municipal seat and the Leona Vicario delegation as well as volunteers, also joined,” she said.

Laura Fernández pointed out that thanks to the efforts, around 70 percent of the sargassum was removed from the public beaches of Puerto Morelos Sunday, noting the rest will be removed Monday.

Miguel Ángel Zetina Azcorra, Coordinador de Directores of the Alcaldía de Puerto Morelos says that at this beginning of the week, 1,200 linear meters of sargassum barrier will be placed, which will then allow the sargassum to be carried directly to collection trucks.

“We will continue this Monday with the cleaning of the beaches with the support of the municipal brigades and volunteers,” said the official.

In Playa del Carmen, beaches also suffered a sargassum smack with mayor Laura Beristaín Navarrete reporting the weekend removal of approximately 150 tons.

“Hand in hand with the Secretary of the Navy and the state government, a single inter-institutional strategy has been defined that with joint actions, we will keep our beaches clean, thus offering excellent environmental, scenic and commercial conditions to all locals, national visitors and foreigners,” said the mayor in a press release.

The director of the Federal Terrestrial Maritime Zone (Zofemat), Marco Loeza Pacheco, reported that in the last 24 hours in particular, several tons of sargassum arrived as a result of the passage of the tropical depression Cristóbal. He added that with manual tools and light machinery, they were able to remove 150 tons from the most affected beach areas of Playa del Carmen.