By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Sep 17, 2014 06:49 AM EDT

Powerful Hurricane Odile has since become a tropical storm but not before rampaging through Baja California and some parts of Mexico near the peninsula.

Cabo San Lucas has earned a special mention on various news headlines as the Mexican holiday paradise favored by the rich and famous, but now, it has become an unrecognizable destination. The tourist spot was right in the path of the Category 3 hurricane.

"Photos posted to social media by visitors to the popular tourist destination depict smashed windows and doors, splintered palm trees, flooded roads and collapsed bits of infrastructure," The International Business Times noted. "Torrential rain and deafening winds pummeled the city's balconied hotels and wreaked havoc on the sandy shoreline."

"2 days ago we walked along the marina happy with not a care in the world. Today I'm shocked and saddened," tweeted Sarah McKinney, one of the tourists who experienced the wrath of hurricane Odile first hand.

Cabo San Lucas is just one of a number of beach resorts in the Baja California peninsula affected by Odile.

"The whole place is devastated, windows are trashed, trees and electricity poles are down," revealed Mauricio Balderrama, manager of the Cabo Surf Hotel and Spa in San Jose del Cabo. He also said that the guests were fine, the BBC reported.

Mexican authorities had prepared 164 evacuation shelters capable of accommodating about 30,000 people. About 26,000 foreign visitors and 4,000 locals were in the affected region. Hurricane Odile was predicted to reach category 4 but weakened as it reached the coast.

"Forecasters said the storm slowed to up to 20 km/h (13 mph), and would steadily weaken over the next two days," the BBC added.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the Mexican government had started "airlifting the first of tens of thousands of stranded tourists out of the hurricane-ravaged resort area of Los Cabos on Tuesday."

"The Interior Ministry said military and commercial planes were carrying travelers out through the Los Cabos international airport, which remained closed to commercial flights due to damage suffered when Hurricane Odile tore through the area late Sunday and Monday," the news wire added.

One of the tourists who managed to be among the first to be ferried from the devastated region described the Los Cabos airport as being "like a scene from 'The Walking Dead.'"

On Monday, hundreds of looters reportedly "ransacked supermarkets and electronic stores, snatching rice, water, toilet paper, alcohol, televisions, and fans after the passage of the hurricane. At least 1,000 troops have been sent to the area, AFP reported.

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