September 24, 2024
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm John struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast with life-threatening flood potential after growing into a major hurricane in a matter of hours.
It came ashore near the town of Punta Maldonado late Monday night as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. It weakened back to tropical storm status early Tuesday with maximum sustained wind speeds of 50 mph and was expected to weaken rapidly.
Still, the United States National Hurricane Center warned that the storm’s slow pace and heavy rains could cause potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides in some Mexican states.
“Seek higher ground, protect yourselves and do not forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We are here,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote on the social media platform X.
The storm was expected to batter Punta Maldonado and the nearby tourist hubs Acapulco and Puerto Escondido before being weakened over the high terrain inland.
The center said heavy rainfall over coastal southwest Mexico through the week was likely to cause “significant and possible catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” in parts of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero states.
On Tuesday morning, the storm was forecast to dawdle along the coastal mountains, even dip back over the Pacific, but continue weakening throughout the day.
Residents were tense in Oaxaca’s coastal cities as the forecast shifted and authorities responded.
Laura Velázquez, the federal coordinator of civil protection, told residents of Pacific coastal cities they should evacuate their homes and head to shelters in order to “protect theirs and their family's lives.”
“It's very important that all citizens in the coastal zone … take preventive measures," Velázquez said.
Ana Aldai, a 33-year-old employee of a restaurant on the shores of the tourist hub Puerto Escondido, said businesses in the area began closing after authorities ordered the suspension of all work on the area's main beaches.
The governments of Guerrero and Oaxaca states said classes would be suspended Tuesday in a number of coastal zones.
Oaxaca's governor said the state government evacuated 3,000 people and set up 80 shelters. It also said it sent out 1,000 military and state personnel to address the emergency.
In Puerto Escondido flip-flop-clad tourists walked through heavy rain and fishers pulled their boats out of the water. Strong rains in previous days have already left some roads in the region in a precarious position.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said her government planned to work on improving an early alert system, similar to what the country has with earthquakes.
Through Thursday, John is expected to produce 6 to 12 inches of rain across coastal areas of Chiapas state with more in isolated areas. In areas along and near the Oaxaca coast to southeast Guerrero, between 10 and 20 inches of rain with isolated higher totals can be expected through Thursday.
“You’re going to feel the impacts of the storm probably for the next couple of weeks to a couple of months,” meteorologist Benz added.
