Storm season brings calls for clearer evacuation rules

On a Wednesday morning at the Puerto Azul waterfront, Carmen Ruiz stood in the lobby of the Coral Bay Resort, watching the sky darken over the Caribbean. The forecast called for tropical storm conditions by evening—not yet a hurricane, but enough to shut down dive operations and clear the beaches. Ruiz, who manages guest relations at the resort, had spent the previous day fielding calls from frightened tourists and fielding her own questions to the hotel's management: If we evacuate, who pays? If we stay open and something happens, who is liable?

Those questions have no clear answers, according to interviews with two dozen hotel operators, dive cooperative captains, and tourism workers across Costa Mar this week. Federal guidance on evacuation procedures and liability during severe weather remains opaque, and the regional government has issued no supplementary protocol. With hurricane forecasts predicting above-average storm activity through November, the uncertainty is fueling anxiety in an industry that depends on predictability.

The tension reflects a deeper constitutional gap: tourism is regulated at the regional level, but maritime safety and emergency management fall partly to federal authorities in Meridian. When a storm threatens, nobody is entirely clear who decides what.