Hurricane Erick made landfall on Mexico’s southern coast as a Category 3 storm early Thursday after prompting flash floods, school closings and evacuations in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.
The hurricane had been a Category 4 storm as it bore down from the eastern Pacific toward Mexico, but weakened slightly as it reached the coast around 6 a.m. local time, in western Oaxaca, with winds around 125 miles per hour.
The storm made landfall just east of a town called Punta Maldonado, and was moving northwest and inland as a Category 3 storm on Thursday morning. Officials said its destructive winds and heavy rain threatened to unleash a dangerous storm surge.
Mexico’s Civil Protection authorities issued a red alert late Wednesday, indicating the highest level of danger for severe weather, in parts of Oaxaca and the neighboring state of Guerrero.
In its latest advisory, the U.S. National Hurricane Canter said Erick was expected to bring between 8 and 12 inches of rain in most places, and possibly up to 16 inches in some areas, mainly across Oaxaca and Guerrero. They warned that serious flooding was expected as well as dangerous mudslides, especially in mountainous or hilly areas.
Extremely strong and damaging winds were also a hazard, and strong waves and swells were expected to affect the southern Mexican coast through the day.
“If you are in low-lying areas, near rivers, near waterways, it is best for you to go to shelters, to the shelters that have already been set up for this situation,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a news conference on Wednesday morning. “Anyone who has a boat should not go out.”
Erick was likely to weaken over the mountains of Mexico as it made its way inland, and dissipate early Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The center 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 Ruiz Jarquín, 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, which formed on Tuesday, strengthened rapidly on Wednesday. A tropical storm early morning, it reached Category 4 status just before midnight after its maximum sustained wind speeds doubled.
The 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.
Nazaneen Ghaffar is a Times reporter on the Weather team.
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