Hurricane Erick makes landfall in southern Mexico as category 3 storm – National

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

The Hurricane center was located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Punta Maldonado. Its maximum supported winds were timed at 125 mph (205 km / h). He was moving northwest to 9 MPH (15 km / h), said the Hurricane center.

The storm was slightly retrograde before giving land, 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 129 MPH (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 near the place where the eyes crashes on the ground, the sudden floods and a wave of dangerous storm, the forecasters said.

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.

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

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message Wednesday evening that all the activities of 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.

Last -minute purchases ended at nightfall when the stores closed and the streets have emptied.

Earlier in the day, Puerto Escondido fishermen took out their boats from the water before the storm arrived. Some surfers have continued to make waves at Zicatela beach, even with red flags to warn people to stay outside the water.

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 OtisA category 5 hurricane that quickly intensified and attracted many people without preparation. 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. 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.

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“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 forecastists expected Erick to get the Pacific Coast of Mexico stuck with heavy rain, strong winds and a fierce storm wave. Rains up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) could fall through the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lower totals in the states of Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, declared the opinion of the center. Precipitation threatened the floods and mud shifts, especially in areas with steep terrain.

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.

Having doubled in less than a day, Erick turned into an ideal environment for rapid intensification. Last year, there were 34 rapid intensification incidents – when a storm earns at least 35 MPH in 24 hours – which represents about twice as much as the average and causes forecast problems, according to the Hurricane Center.

–Sánchez reported in Acapulco, Mexico.

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