Puerto Escondido, Mexico — Hurricane John has slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, causing life-threatening flooding after strengthening into a major hurricane in a matter of hours. It made landfall near the town of Punta Maldonado late Monday night as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 kph). John’s rapid intensification has sent authorities scrambling to keep up and warn people of its potential destruction.
“Seek higher ground, protect yourself and remember that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We are here,” wrote Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the social network X.
By Tuesday morning, John had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It is expected to hit Punta Maldonado and the nearby resorts of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido before weakening over high ground inland.
David Zamora/Reuters
The center said before landfall, “life-threatening” storm surges and flash floods were already ravaging the Pacific coast near Oaxaca.
Hurricane John threatens to intensify rapidly
The unexpected increase in wind power caught scientists, officials and local residents by surprise, something AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Benz and other experts have attributed to warming oceans, which fuel hurricanes.
As a result, unexpected increases in hurricane strength have become more frequent, Benz said.
“These are storms we’ve never really experienced before,” he said.Rapid intensification “This has happened more frequently in modern times than in the historical record. So this tells us that there is something going on there.”
Rapid intensification is defined by meteorologists as an increase in a tropical cyclone’s maximum sustained winds of at least 30 knots (about 35 mph) over a 24-hour period, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Residents of Oaxaca’s coastal towns were on edge as forecasts changed and authorities responded.
Laura Velázquez, the federal civil protection coordinator, told residents of Pacific coastal cities that they should evacuate their homes and head to shelters to “protect their lives and those of their families.”
“It is very important that all citizens of the coastal area… take preventive measures,” Velázquez said.
Ana Aldai, a 33-year-old employee of a restaurant on the shores of the tourist hub of Puerto Escondido, said businesses in the area began closing after authorities ordered all work on the area’s main beaches to be suspended.
The state governments of Guerrero and Oaxaca announced that classes would be suspended in several coastal areas starting Tuesday.
NOAA
The governor of Oaxaca said the state government had evacuated 3,000 people and set up 80 shelters. He also said he had sent 1,000 military and state agents to deal with the emergency.
Videos posted on social media in Puerto Escondido show tourists in flip-flops walking in the pouring rain and fishermen pulling their boats out of the water. Heavy rains in the past few days have already left some roads in the area in a precarious situation.
Ms. Aldai said she was “a little anxious” because authorities were quick to raise the alarm. “We haven’t had the opportunity to make the necessary purchases. That worries us, too,” she said.
A persistent impact on a coast battered a year earlier by Otis
Meteorologist Benz expressed concern that the storm could slow down once it makes landfall, leaving it hovering over the coastal area, potentially causing even greater damage.
The hurricane is bad news for the region, which was hit last year by Otis, a similar hurricane that was rapidly intensifying.
Otis devastated the resort town of Acapulco, where residents had no idea of the force of what was about to hit them. It was one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded. Scientists at the time said it was due to changing weather patterns.
Otis knocked out power to the city for days, leaving bodies strewn along the coast and families desperate to find their missing loved ones. Much of the city was thrown into a state of lawlessness and thousands of people rummaged through stores, scrambling for food and water.
López Obrador’s government has been heavily criticized for its slow response to Otis, but officials have since pledged to pick up the pace.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said her government plans to work to improve an early warning system, similar to the one the country has for earthquakes.
By Thursday, John is expected to produce 6 to 12 inches of rain in coastal areas of Chiapas state and more in isolated areas. In areas along and near the coast from Oaxaca to southeastern Guerrero, 10 to 20 inches of rain and isolated higher totals are expected through Thursday.
“You will likely feel the effects of the storm over the next few weeks, if not months,” added meteorologist Benz.
