At 9.45pm on Sunday, the Category 3 storm named Hurricane Odile slammed into the upscale resort of Cabo San Lucas, a luxury resort favored by celebrities including George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston. Impoverished areas of the city and wider Baja area also saw hundreds of homes destroyed.
A convenience store was torn apart with the contents of its shelves dumped to the ground, and some locals helped themselves to food, water and other goods.
People loot a supermarket in San Jose del Cabo, on Monday after Hurricane Odile knocked down trees and power lines in Mexico's Baja California peninsula. Some 24,000 foreign tourists and 6,000 Mexican beachgoers spent the night in hotels where conference rooms were transformed into shelters
Before moving north late on Monday, Odile made landfall near Cabo San Lucas as a powerful Category 3 hurricane before rapidly weakening.
It toppled trees and road signs along the main highway, which at one point was flooded by rushing waters. Windows were blown out of high-end hotel rooms and resort facades crumbled to the ground.
Most of the area's power poles were blown over, leaving 239,000 people in the state of Baja California Sur without electricity, said Luis Felipe Puente, national coordinator for Civil Protection.
‘In the seven years I've been here, I've never seen anything hit like this,’ said Alejandro Tealdi, a 32-year-old resident of Cabo San Lucas whose home was damaged.
Many homes and businesses were reduced to shells with only the core structure intact. The walls of an OfficeMax collapsed into the parking lot.
In Colonia Unidad Real, a neighborhood that sprang up years ago in a former creek bed, hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed with debris scattered everywhere.
After spending a harrowing night with her in-laws, Graciela Castillo Monroy, 44, and her family returned to find the roof of their home gone and all but two of its cinderblock walls collapsed. They piled what belongings could be salvaged atop a soggy mattress and began picking up the pieces.
‘Well, time to start over again,’ Monroy said.
Odile continued to lash the state of Baja California Sur with strong winds and heavy rains as it marched northward, but it weakened to a tropical storm late on Monday night.
The entrance of the Hilton hotel is filled with debris caused by Hurricane Odile. The storm blazed a trail of destruction through Mexico's Baja California Peninsula that leveled everything from ramshackle homes to big box stores and luxury hotels, leaving roads and entire neighborhoods as disaster zones
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds near 65 mph. It was centered about 60 miles northwest of Loreto and moving to the north-northwest at 13 mph.Odile was expected to drop 6 to 12 inches of rain with isolated accumulations of 18 inches, threatening to unleash dangerous flash floods and landslides.
Meanwhile in the central Atlantic, Hurricane Edouard strengthened to a Category 2 storm on Monday night with maximum sustained winds near 110 mph, although it was forecast to remain far out at sea and pose no threat to land.
The U.S. hurricane center said Edouard's center was 520 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and was moving north-northwest at 13 mph.
On Monday morning many holiday makers staying in the area awoke to find themselves in the midst of the holiday from hell.
Josh Morgerman, a California storm chaser, wrote on Twitter that his Cabo hotel lobby 'exploded in heap of rubble', forcing him to escape by 'crawling, scampering, running', NBC reported.
Enrique Cota CeceÒa cries after finding that his house was severely damaged by flood waters from Hurricane Odile in Los Cabos, Mexico
Tourist Cesar Calzada, center, of Mexico City, climbs over a fence of the Riu resort to get out of the hotel and go search for food after Hurricane Odile severely damaged the hotel in Los Cabos
Tourist Patrick Egan from California looks at the interior patios of the Hilton hotel. Hurricane Odile snapped palm trees like twigs, washed out roads and left tourists trapped in Mexican resorts. It was expected to weaken into a tropical storm early Tuesday
Holiday from hell: Tourists sit on the concrete stairs in the service area of a resort after the designated area for shelter was destroyed by winds in Los Cabos, Mexico on Monday. On Sunday, gales from Odile whipped torrents of rain ashore, chasing visitors in popular tourist destinations into close quarters
Devastation: Residents salvage the useful remains from houses destroyed by Hurricane Odile in Los Cabos, Mexico, today. Hundreds for impoverished housed were destroyed. Streets in Cabo San Lucas were drenched. Palm trees were knocked over, and outdoor markets were trashed
Ruins: Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Mexico's Baja California peninsula due to Hurricane Odile
Wreckage: A hotel worker walks near the entrance of the resort, partially destroyed by Hurricane Odile
Fears: A woman talks on the phone next to a destroyed convenience store trashed by Hurricane Odile
Rubble: Cars parked next to an office supplies store partially destroyed by Hurricane Odile, in Los Cabos, Mexico
Tired out: A Mexican family rests with their two-year old toddler rests inside a room in the service area of a resort following the monstrous storm that hit the peninsula on Sunday nightChelsea Ballenberger, who was enjoying a trip to La Paz from her home in Alabama, described on Facebook how she was forced to take refuge in the shower as her room flooded.
'As soon as we moved to the shower the windows shattered,' she said. 'We can hear the wind howling everywhere… Definitely the scariest thing I have ever been through.'
Clooney has a vacation home on the tip of the peninsula and counts Cindy Crawford among his neighbors, according to Architectural Digest. It is not known if it sustained damage.
Odile has weakened from a category four to category two hurricane since Sunday, but the National Hurricane Center said it would likely cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides on Mexico's northwestern coast during the next day or two.
'The whole place is devastated, San José del Cabo, windows are trashed, trees and electricity poles are down,' said Mauricio Balderrama, manager of the Cabo Surf Hotel and Spa. All of the hotel's guests were fine, he added.
'It's the entire corridor' between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, said Deneb Poli, a medical worker at the Hotel Melia Cabo Real. She said all the hotel's guests and employees were fine, but electricity and phone lines were cut and cellphone coverage was spotty. 'There are parts of hotels that are completely collapsed. ... The damage is pretty extensive.'
A man stands by a trailer that was swept along with debris, by the flood waters and high winds of Hurricane Odile in Los Cabos, Mexico
Piedad Velazquez carries her puppy across a river bed on her way to check on neighbors whose trailer home was pushed away by flood water and high winds during Hurricane Odile
Part of the belongings of Enrique Cota CeceÒa sit covered in mud inside his house which was severely flooded by Hurricane Odile
Enrique Cota CeceÒa shows to reporters what remains of his belongings after his house was severely damaged by flood waters
Far cry: The resort town is loved by celebrities including George Clooney, who has a home nearby
Waiting: A family from San Jose, California, cover themselves with pillows as they sit on the concrete stairs in the service area of a resort after the designated area for shelter was destroyed by winds in Los Cabos
Debris:The beach at the port of Los Cabos is covered in debris washed ashore in the hurricane 
Debris: A tourist from England walks by rental cars, partially destroyed by Hurricane Odile on Monday
Downed: A car drives by a gas station that was hit by the monster hurricane overnight
Smashed: The designated area for shelter at a resort lays partially destroyed by winds in Los CabosThe weather service said Odile was expected to slow as it pushed northwest along the desert peninsula and forecast the storm would weaken steadily over the next two days.
The winds have eased somewhat since the storm moved over land, but because it struck in the middle of the night, details were scarce on the extent of any damage on Monday morning.
The newspaper Tribuna de los Cabos reported people being injured by flying glass, power lines and traffic signals down throughout the city and a fire at the Cascadas resort on Medano Beach. No details about the blaze were immediately available.
All along the highway homes and businesses were heavily damaged, many reduced to shells with only the core structure intact. The walls of an OfficeMax collapsed into the parking lot. A convenience store was ripped apart with the contents of its shelves dumped to the ground. A Comex paint shop sign was missing its "x," ripped away from the building by the gale-force winds.
'From what we have seen around here, everything is pretty much destroyed," said Alejandro Tealdi, a 32-year-old resident of Cabo San Lucas. His home was damaged and suffered some flooding, but nobody was hurt. "In the seven years I've been here, I've never seen anything hit like this.'
Tourists in shelters or hiding in the bathtubs of their rooms posted photos on social media showing windows, barricaded with furniture, after they were blown out by the strong winds.
As many as 30,000 people were expected to seek shelter across the peninsula, which is also dotted with tiny fishing villages that faced total wreckage in the monster storm.
Mexican authorities evacuated residents and prepared shelters as the 'highly dangerous' hurricane made landfall. After it hit, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Odile would continue over the southern portion of the peninsula over the course into Monday.
Winds of up to 125mph were recorded in Baja overnight - just hours after Los Cabos international airport shut down all air operations in preparation for the massive storm.
Ahead of the storm's arrival on Sunday, gusty winds whipped palm trees, waves pounded the rocky shore and fluttering black flags signaled that beaches were closed due to high surf.
Storm: This NOAA satellite image taken Monday morning shows Hurricane Odile making landfall on the Baja Peninsula with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour
Landfall: A satellite image provided by NOAA shows Category 4 Hurricane Odile coming into contact with Baja California before moving northwest and being downgraded to a Category 3 storm
Danger: Mexican authorities evacuated residents and prepared shelters for up to 30,000 people on Sunday as the 'highly dangerous' Hurricane Odile made landfall, battering the country's Baja California peninsula
Concern: Locals watch the strong waves caused by Hurricane Odile in Mazatlan, Mexico yesterday afternoon. The storm itself has since made landfall, with winds of up to 125mph
Winds blow palm trees on the beach in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Sunday as Odile turned into a Category 4 storm'We are going to be hit, do not risk your life,' warned Marcos Covarrubias, governor of the region.
After reaching Category 4 strength earlier yesterday, Odile weakened some to Category 3.
But it is still considered a major storm that threatened to bring high winds, deadly surf and heavy rains to Baja and parts of the mainland - with forecasters also warning it could strengthen again.
Some 800 marines were on standby, and officials readied heavy equipment to help out in areas where mudslides could occur.
Trouble ahead: Ahead of the storm's arrival yesterday, gusty winds whipped palm trees, waves pounded the rocky shore and fluttering black flags signaled that beaches were closed due to high surf
After reaching Category 4 strength earlier yesterday, Odile weakened some to Category 3. But it is still considered a major storm that will bring high winds, deadly surf and heavy rains to large areas of MexicoAfter reaching Category 4 strength earlier yesterday, Odile weakened some to Category 3. But it is still considered a major storm that will bring high winds, deadly surf and heavy rains to large areas of Mexico
Police with megaphones walked through vulnerable areas in Cabo San Lucas urging people to evacuate.
'I'm leaving. It's very dangerous here,' said Felipa Flores, clutching a plastic bag with a few belongings as she took her two small children from her neighborhood of El Caribe to a storm shelter.
'Later on we're going to be cut off and my house of wood and laminated cardboard won't stand up to much.'
Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets as residents stocked up on food, bottled water, flashlights and batteries.
Some went to the shore to take photos and video of the ocean as the waves picked up and the skies darkened.
At least 22 airline flights were canceled, and some tourists said they were stranded.
Others camped out at the Los Cabos international airport hoping to get out before the storm, but the facility shut down all air operations late in the afternoon.
Highly dangerous: Mexican authorities evacuated families from dangerous areas of the coast, where some homes cannot provide enough safety for residents
Paradise lost: Odile approaches Los Cabos, Mexico, a popular resort location and threatened to deal a blow to residences and hotels along the coastline
Attraction: From within the safety of more modern buildings like hotels, tourists could view the approaching storLuis Felipe Puente, national coordinator for Mexico's civil protection agency, said 164 shelters had been prepared for as many as 30,000 people in the state of Baja California Sur.
He said 30,000 tourists, nearly all of them foreigners, were in the area, and could seek refuge in any of the 18 hotels set up as shelters.
People were warned to stay inside in the safer areas of hotels and keep away from doors and windows.
Hotel employees distributed movies and board games to guests in anticipation of everyone having to hunker down in lounges and conference rooms during the night. Workers put protective plastic sheeting over windows.
Ann Montalvo, a tourist from California staying at the Westin resort, said hotel workers seemed to be taking steps to ensure guests' safety, and she wasn't worried.
'I live in the San Francisco area where we have earthquakes, so we're always kind of on our toes anyway,' Montalvo said.
Besides being powerful, Odile was a large storm. The U.S. hurricane center said hurricane-force winds extended outward from the center up to 50 miles (85 kilometers) and tropical storm-force winds as far as 185 miles (295 kilometers).
Children watch a film on their laptop as tourists rest inside a shelter at a resort in Los Cabos on Sunday
Floods: A vehicle attempts to drive through a flooded street on Sunday ahead of the worst part of the stormIt warned that a dangerous storm surge could cause coastal flooding accompanied by large, destructive waves.
Rainfall of 5 to 10 inches was expected, along with isolated amounts up to 15 inches.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Baja California Sur from Punta Abreojos to Loreto.
Mexican authorities declared a maximum alert for areas in or near Odile's path, and ports in Baja California were ordered closed.
In the central Atlantic, Hurricane Edouard had sustained winds near 85 mph (140 kph), although it was forecast to remain far out at sea and pose no threat to land.
The U.S. hurricane center said Edouard's center was 835 miles (1,345 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and was moving northwest at 15 mph (24 kph).
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