Sargassum seaweed invades Playa del Carmen beaches after Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl has left both the beaches of Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres covered with sargassum. An unintended consequence was the improvement of up to five beaches. How is that possible?

Among tons of sargassum, which was quickly removed by authorities, the hurricane also brought tons of sand to Playa del Carmen’s already eroded beaches, said Jesús Adrián Medina Pérez, director of Solidaridad’s Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat).

“The hurricane didn’t have that many [negative] consequences for the beaches. On the contrary, it involved a lot of sand. Waterholes were even covered by the sand brought in by the cyclone.” Medina told reporters.

This phenomenon has counteracted the heavy erosion that some beaches suffered, partly due to the continued removal of sargassum.

Beaches that have increased in size the most are Fundadores, Punta Esmeralda, Mamitas, Pelicanos and the hotel Hyatt zone, said María Várguez Ocampo, Minister of Sustainable Environment and Climate Change.

The excess sand will be dumped on the beaches that need it most, Várguez said.

Regarding the negative impacts, Medina said that only four palapas were destroyed and that sargassum has been “normal” since Monday after a storm of this magnitude, especially during the seaweed season.

In nearby Tulum, Beryl wasn’t exactly bad either. Beaches look almost clean and ready to receive tourists.

“Fortunately, sargassum has not been a factor affecting destination this year. Before the arrival of Hurricane Beryl, there was no sargassum. In March we only had visible algae for a few weeks. Tulum has been pretty clean in terms of sargassum. In previous years this was much worse,” said Carlos Solís of Mexidriver.