( CNN ) -- The end of the Earth . That 's how an official Mexican tourism website describes Los Cabos . For 27-year-old Kate Pope , the popular beach travel destination on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula felt like just that after Hurricane Odile hit Sunday night . `` The hotel gates are chained shut and there are guards with batons for security , '' Pope said . `` Resorts are a good target once the grocery stores are depleted . '' More than 1,000 miles away , her fiance , William Wilcox , was frantic . Pope had traveled to Cabo San Lucas from California for a bachelorette celebration with her sisters and friends . For days , Wilcox had n't heard from them -- until Wednesday morning , when he learned that instead of partying at beachside bars , the group had huddled for 14 hours in a hotel basement and then later spent the night in soaked beds in a flooded room . The hotel employees asked them to turn all flashlights off and keep quiet so they did not attract the masses roaming the streets , Pope said . `` People are still stuck , '' Wilcox wrote in a Twitter post Thursday . With communication still spotty , he says he 's not sure where Pope is , but he hopes she 's on a bus on the way to the airport . It 's a harrowing situation that 's left the resort region paralyzed long after the storm hit . Authorities said thousands of tourists were trapped after the storm left airports unable to reopen . Mexican military aircraft began transporting passengers from the region Tuesday . By Thursday , the country 's transportation ministry said 18,000 people had been flown out on more than 120 military and commercial flights . `` The great majority of stranded tourists have been evacuated , '' the ministry said , adding that efforts will continue until all the affected travelers are transported . On Thursday afternoon , an emergency message from the U.S. Embassy advised U.S. citizens in the area to go as soon as possible to the airport in San Jose del Cabo , where the State Department was working with U.S. and Mexican carriers to arrange flights . `` Passengers should be prepared to wait until they are able to depart , '' the statement said . By Thursday evening , there were still thousands of tourists trying to get out of the area . A line at the airport stretched for more than a kilometer . Out of contact for days . But several family members of tourists vacationing in Mexico told CNN they 're still waiting to find out how their loved ones fared . It took Elizabeth Vasquez of Concord , California , days to hear from her daughter after Odile pounded Puerto Los Cabos . `` Mom I can hear the wind now , '' Lisa Vasquez wrote in a text as the storm hit . `` I hear all kinds of things hitting the building . '' Not long after that message , any word from the daughter ceased . On Thursday , Lisa Vasquez and her fiance Tomas were back in the United States at a Dallas airport trying to get a flight home to California . And they were back in touch with family . Georgia Demet-Mangiameli says two of her sons were stranded in Cabo San Lucas after heading there for a destination wedding . `` It 's very disturbing . ... In the United States , there is the Red Cross which gets people out of harm 's way instantly and there in Mexico they have just been sitting there for days since Sunday , '' she said . `` The conditions are horrible . They are running out of food , water and toilet paper , '' Demet-Mangiameli told CNN . `` They are worried about looters . '' 'It just hit like a pile driver ' In four years of living in Cabo San Lucas , Justin Dow said he 'd never seen anything like it . `` It just hit like a pile driver . It was so vicious that the house was shaking . The noises were so scary , '' Dow said , describing his experience hearing the storm hit . `` The entire downstairs had at least an inch or more of water . You could just hear the destruction outside . '' Now , Dow said , the town he calls home has drastically transformed . `` It is complete and utter devastation . They are looting everything , '' he said . `` There needs to be a lot done . '' On Thursday , Mexican President Enrique PeÃ±a Nieto said officials were creating a temporary work program to clean up damaged areas and community kitchens to help residents in the most severely impacted areas , state media reported . But Dow , originally from St. Simons Island , Georgia , said government officials in Mexico did n't react quickly or strongly enough to the devastating storm and its aftermath . He and his wife managed to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon , flying to San Diego with their dogs Sofi and Partner sitting at their feet . Dow says he ca n't shake the thought of the people left behind . `` Humans become desperate , and desperation turns into bad things , '' he said . `` So many people are still there , so many people that ca n't leave . '' CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet , Carma Hassan , Krupskaia Alis and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report .
Military and commercial aircraft have evacuated 18,000 tourists , officials say . The U.S. State Department has advised Americans to leave the country because of a possible threat from North Korea. `` The hotel gates are chained shut , '' one American trapped in Cabo San Lucas says . The State Department advises stranded tourists to head to the airport .