Puerto Escondido, Mexico (AP) – The Pacific coast of Zuid -Mexico was brace for a Thursday morning impact with the approach of Hurricane Erick, which was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” category 4 early Thursday, said the American National Hurricane Center.
The great storm threatens to unleash destructive winds near where the eye, flash floods and a dangerous storm teass crash, said predictors.
The Center, based in Miami, reported that Erick was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) West-Zuidwest of Puerto Angel, Mexico, and about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Punta Maldonado, Mexico. The storm had maximum persistent winds of 145 mph (230 km / h) and moved to the northwest at 9 mph (15 km / h).
A hurricane is defined as category 4 when wind speeds reach 130-156 MPH (209-251 km / h).
Storm moves to the south on approaching
At the end of Wednesday, the projected path crawled from Erick to the south, closer to the resort city of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, and centered on a sparsely populated coastline between the Oaxacan Resort and Acapulco in the northwest.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday evening in a video message that all activities in the region were suspended and she urged people to stay in their homes or to move to hiding places if they lived in low -lying areas.
Waves crashed on the Esplanade in Puerto Escondido by falling the evening, in which wooden fishing boats were flooded that had been drawn there for safety. The beach disappeared under pounding waves and the rising tide had already reached the interior of some restaurants on the water.
Last-minute purchases ended when the evening falls when the stores were closed and the streets were empty.
Earlier in the day, fishermen in Puerto Escondido pulled their boats out of the water for the arrival of the storm. Some surfers kept on driving on the beach of Zicatela, even with red flags to warn people to stay out of the water.
The course shift of the storm can be a welcome relief for residents of Stormbase Acapulco.
The city of nearly 1 million was destroyed in October 2023 by Hurricane OtisA category 5 hurricane that was quickly intensified and much unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and the storm was seriously damaged in the resort.
Acapulco still signed by Otis
Residents of Acapulco said they canceled before Erick’s arrival with more preparation and fear because of the memory of the destruction caused by Hurricane Otis two years earlier.
Guerrero State Gov. Evelyn Salgado said via X that all movement in Acapulco and other beach communities at 8 p.m. schools had to be suspended throughout the state for a second day Thursday.
Carlos Ozuna Romero, 51, lost his restaurant on the edge of a beach of Acapulco when Otis hit the resort with devastating winds. On Wednesday he sent employees who saved tables and chairs.
“The warnings of the authorities fulfill us with fear and clearly let us remember everything we have already experienced,” said Ozuna Romero in reference to Otis.
Elsewhere, employees have nailed plywood about shop windows and stacked sandbags outside doors. Cars stood in line to fill their tanks and shoppers who made last-minute purchases before they ran home.
Verónica Gómez struggled through the streets of Acapulco with a large jug of water. “We are all afraid because we think the same could happen,” said the 40-year-old employee of a shipping company.
But she said that she and others learned a lot from Otis. “Now it is not surprising to us,” she said, spent a bag of canned food as evidence.
In Acapulco on Wednesday there was a strong presence of National Guard and police on the street, but the most visible were trucks from the National Power Company. Crews worked to erase and brush drainage channels.
Rain can be Erick’s inheritance
Predictors said Erick was expected to keep the Pacific coast of Mexico with heavy rain, strong wind and a fierce storm flood. Rain of a maximum of 16 inches (40 centimeters) could fall over the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with fewer totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco States, said the center’s advice. The rainfall Endangered floods and mud flowsEspecially in areas with steep terrain.
A hurricane warning was in force from Acapulco to Puerto Ángel. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected in the area, and the preparations to protect life and property must be hurried to completion, according to the advice of the Hurricane Center.
Laura Velázquez, the national civilian defense coordinator of Mexico, said Erick was predicted that he would bring “pouring” to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas in South -Mexico. The mountainous region along the coast is especially susceptible to mud flows with countless rivers that run the risk of flooding.
Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said that all schools would remain closed and that the state had warned all fishing and tourist operators to prepare their boats. The port of Acapulco was closed on Tuesday evening. Salgado said that 582 hiding places were set to receive people who could evacuate their houses.
Sheinbaum warned in her daily briefing that those on the path of the hurricane would observe to consider government instructions and to wait the storm in their houses or designated hiding places.
Erick quickly doubled in strength
Have doubled in less than a dayErick was an ideal environment for rapid intensification through an ideal environment. Last year there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification – When a storm wins at least 35 mph in 24 hours – which is about twice as much as average and problems with prognoses, according to the hurricane center.
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Sánchez reported from Acapulco, Mexico.
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