A resident walks through debris after Hurricane Erick hit near Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca state, in Mexico on Thursday.Luis Alberto Cruz/The Associated Press
Powerful Hurricane Erick has made landfall in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
The hurricane’s centre was located about 30 kilometres east of Punta Maldonado. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 205 k/h. It was moving northwest at 15 k/h, the hurricane centre said.
The storm was downgraded slightly before making landfall, from a powerful Category 4 to a Category 3. While slightly reduced in power, Erick is still considered a major hurricane as a Category 3, which can carry winds of up to 210 k/h.
The storm threaded the needle between the resorts of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido, tearing into a sparsely populated stretch of coastline near the border of Oaxaca and Guerrero states. Agricultural fields blanket the low-lying coastal area between small fishing villages.
Erick is expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains of Mexico, and the system is likely to dissipate late Thursday or early Friday, the hurricane centre said.
The Mexican resort of Acapulco awoke on Thursday under dark clouds, but without a drop of rain and small waves lapping at its central beach. It appeared the town had dodged the worst at least in terms of strong winds.
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The storm threatened to unleash destructive winds near where the eye crashes ashore, flash floods and a dangerous storm surge, forecasters said.
At first light Thursday, Acapulco awoke under ominous dark clouds, but without a drop of rain and small waves lapping at its central beach.
However, the storm was forecast to move northwest just inland up the coast through midday, bringing heavy rain to the resort and the mountains that tower dramatically above it.
Still, it appeared Acapulco had dodged the worst at least in terms of Erick’s strong winds.
Late Wednesday, Erick’s projected path crept south, closer to the resort city of Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca state, and centred on a sparsely populated stretch of coastline between the Oaxacan resort and Acapulco to the northwest.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message Wednesday night that all activities in the region were suspended and she urged people to stay in their homes or to move to shelters if they lived in low-lying areas.
Mexican Navy members help with cleaning up after the passage of Hurricane Erick in Bahia Principal, Puerto Escondido, on Thursday.CARLO ECHEGOYEN/AFP/Getty Images
Waves were crashing onto the esplanade in Puerto Escondido by nightfall, swamping wooden fishing boats that had been pulled up there for safety. The beach disappeared under pounding waves and the rising tide had already reached the interiors of some waterfront restaurants.
Last-minute purchases ended at nightfall as stores closed and the streets emptied.
The storm’s course shift could be welcome relief for residents of storm-battered Acapulco.
The city of nearly one million was devastated in October, 2023, by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort’s hotels.
Acapulco residents said they were bracing for Erick’s arrival with more preparation and trepidation because of the memory of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Otis two years earlier.
Guerrero state Gov. Evelyn Salgado said via X that all movement in Acapulco and other beach communities was to be suspended at 8 p.m. Schools across the state were to remain closed for a second day Thursday.
People board up a BBVA bank branch in Puerto Escondido on Wednesday as Hurricane Erick strengthens off Mexico's Pacific Coast.Jorge Luis Plata/Reuters
Forecasters said Erick was expected to lash Mexico’s Pacific coast with heavy rain, strong winds and a fierce storm surge. Rains of up to 40 centimetres could fall across the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states, the centre’s advisory said. The rainfall threatened flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.
A hurricane warning was in effect from Acapulco to Puerto Ángel. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the area, and preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, according to the hurricane centre advisory.
Laura Velázquez, Mexico’s national civil defence co-ordinator, said Erick was forecast to bring “torrential” rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico. The mountainous region along the coast is especially prone to mudslides with numerous rivers at risk of flooding.
Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said all schools would remain closed and the state had alerted all of the fishing and tourism operators to make their boats storm-ready. Acapulco’s port closed Tuesday evening. Salgado said 582 shelters were set to receive people who might evacuate their homes.
Sheinbaum warned in her daily briefing that those in the hurricane’s path should heed government instructions and wait out the storm in their homes or designated shelters.