Erick makes landfall in southern Mexico as Category 3 hurricane

Powerful Hurricane Erick touched Earth in the southern state of Mexico in Oaxaca early Thursday, the Miami National Hurricane Center said.

The Hurricane center was located about 30 kilometers east of Punta Maldonado. Its maximum supported winds were timed at 205 km / h. He was moving northwest at 15 km / h, said the Hurricane center.

The storm was slightly retrograde before landing, from a powerful category 4 to a category 3. Although slightly reduced in power, Erick is always considered a major hurricane as category 3, which can transport winds up to 210 km / h.

The storm put on the needle between the seaside resorts of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido, tearing in a section of coastal little populated near the border of the Oaxaca and Guerrero States. The agricultural fields cover the low coastal area between the small fishing villages.

Erick should weaken quickly as he crashes in the coastal mountains in southern Mexico, and the system is expected to dissipate Thursday or Friday, said the Hurricane center.

The storm threatened to trigger destructive winds, sudden floods and a dangerous storm push, the forecasters said.

The storm moves south on the approach

In the first light on Thursday, Acapulco woke up under disturbing dark clouds, but without a drop of rain and small clapoting waves on its central beach.

However, the storm had to move north-west just inside the lands on the coast until noon, bringing heavy rain to the station and the mountains that turn considerably above.

However, it seemed that Acapulco had dodged the worst at least in terms of strong winds of Erick.

Wednesday evening, Erick’s planned path had slipped south, closer to the Ville de Villégiature de Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, with Acapulco at the top of the coast to the northwest.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message Wednesday evening that all activities in the region had been suspended and she urged people to stay at home or move to shelters if they lived in low areas.

The waves crashed on the esplanade at Puerto Escondido by nightfall, making a swamp of wooden fishing boats that had been drawn there for safety.

The beach has disappeared under hammer waves and the rising tide had already reached the interiors of certain restaurants by the water.

Acapulco still marked by Otis

The Acapulco residents had prepared for the arrival of Erick with more preparation and trepidation due to the memory of the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis two years earlier.

The city of nearly a million was devastated in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a category 5 hurricane which quickly intensified and caught many unprepared people. At least 52 people died in Otis and the storm has seriously damaged almost all the hotels in the complex.

Guerrero’s State Governor Evelyn Salgado said via X that all movements in Acapulco and other beach communities were to be suspended at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. State schools were to remain closed for a second day on Thursday.

Carlos Ozuna Romero, 51, lost her restaurant by the Acapulco beach when Otis slammed the station with devastating winds. Wednesday, he ordered workers to store tables and chairs.

“The authorities’ warnings fill us with fear and obviously make us remember everything we have already experienced,” said Ozuna Romero in reference to Otis.

Elsewhere, workers have nailed plywood leaves on the windows of stores and sandbags stacked outside the doors. The cars aligned themselves to fill their tanks and the buyers made last minute purchases before rushing to their homes.

Verónica Gómez fought in the streets of Acapulco with a large water jug.

“We are all afraid because we think the same could happen,” said the 40 -year -old employee of a sea company.

But she said she and others learned a lot from Otis. “Now that will not surprise us,” she said, holding a bag of canned food as proof.

In Acapulco on Wednesday, there was a strong presence of the National Guard and the police in the streets, but the most visible were trucks of the National Power Company. The crews worked to eliminate drainage channels and brushes.

The rain could be Erick’s inheritance

Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of the civil defense of Mexico, said that Erick was to bring “torrential” rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico. The mountainous region along the coast is particularly subject to mud shifts with many rivers at risk of flood.

The port of Acapulco closed its doors on Tuesday evening. Salgado said 582 shelters were ready to receive people who could evacuate their Guerrero house.