Hurricane Erick was expected to make landfall in Mexico as a Category 4 storm early Thursday after prompting flash floods, school closings and evacuations in the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.
The storm was expected to make landfall west of the port town of Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca. Officials said its destructive winds and heavy rain threatened to unleash a dangerous storm surge.
As the storm bore down on Mexico’s Pacific Coast late Wednesday, Mexico’s Civil Protection authorities issued a red alert, indicating the highest level of danger for severe weather, in parts of Oaxaca and the neighboring state of Guerrero.
The National Hurricane Center of the United States issued a hurricane warning along a roughly 300-mile stretch of coastline from Puerto Ángel in Oaxaca west to Acapulco, a resort city in Guerrero.
More than 2,000 temporary shelters were set up across Guerrero, Oaxaca and the nearby state of Chiapas, the Mexican government said in a statement as the storm approached. President Claudia Sheinbaum told people in Erick’s path to stay indoors and urged those living near low-lying areas, rivers and waterways to move to emergency shelters.
On Wednesday, more than 100 residents in the Oaxaca community of Lagunas de Chacahua, mostly fishermen and tourism service workers, were sheltering in schools after being evacuated, said Cutberto Gutiérrez, a meteorologist at Oaxaca’s risk management coordination office.
Erick also flooded the streets of Salina Cruz, a major seaport in Oaxaca, leaving cars stranded on Wednesday. The police in Oaxaca and Guerrero were assisting drivers and removing rocks and branches from roads.
Ahead of the storm’s arrival, some residents and store owners in Puerto Escondido boarded up windows and doors. Tourists were advised to stay in their hotels.
Schools were also closed for a second straight day in parts of Oaxaca, said Emilio Montero Pérez, the director of the Oaxaca State Institute of Public Education.
Erick strengthened rapidly on Wednesday. Its winds were strong enough to hurl objects off the ground, knock over trees, break branches and tear off roofs. The authorities said they were monitoring dams and rivers, and warning people about flash flooding.
Mexico’s southern Pacific Coast was hit badly in 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm that killed more than 50 people after intensifying rapidly. It devastated Acapulco, sinking yachts and fishing boats and smashing hotels and homes.
Erick is the fifth named storm to form in the Eastern Pacific Ocean this year. The Pacific hurricane season, like the Atlantic one, runs through Nov. 30.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
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