Hurricane Beryl Brings Unexpected Benefits to Cancún Beaches

Hurricane "Beryl" resulted in sargassum seaweed washing up on the beaches of Cancún. Jesús Adrián Medina Pérez, director of the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) of Solidaridad, stated that this slight increase in seaweed is normal during the sargassum beaching season.

According to Pérez, the sargassum started appearing yesterday and continued into the morning. However, he noted that the hurricane also brought sand to the coastlines. Beaches like Caribe, which had previously experienced significant erosion, gained some meters of sand. Other areas like Mamitas beach and the area around the Hyatt hotel also saw similar benefits.

"The hurricane did not cause excessive damage to the beaches. On the contrary, it brought sand," Pérez said. He noted that a freshwater spring was even covered by the sand brought in by the cyclone.

Pérez also stated that the only debris left on the coasts were leaves and branches at beach entrances, along with four collapsed palapas due to the heavy swell. However, he emphasized that there were no casualties from the cyclone, largely due to proactive measures such as removing garbage bins and signs from the coast.

Pérez also mentioned that sand recovered from the sargassum will be used to address areas of greater erosion as the tide recedes. He also reported that a "panic button" post installed by the Municipality at Mamitas beach had fallen in the sand. The cameras were removed, but will be reinstalled once the beach recovery stabilizes at that location.