Hurricane Simon strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm and was expected to make landfall or skirt the coast of west-central Mexico yesterday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
Fluctuations in strength are expected until the core of Simon reaches the coast, with a maximum wind speed of 249 km per hour, the NHC said in an update.
“Significant or catastrophic wind, surge, and rainfall appears likely over portions of west-central Mexico” on Saturday night and yesterday, the centre added.
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion shortly in the hurricane warning area.”
It comes as Florida assesses the damage from Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which killed at least four people in the southeastern US.
Simon is the latest in a busy hurricane season in the Pacific, where the powerful El Nino ocean warming phenomenon is weakening wind shear, allowing the storms to gain in strength.
Mexico’s Navy had evacuated around 100 people from settlements along the country’s west coast due to the storm. “Three years ago, we lost everything,” said Elena Gulmas, 63, in reference to 2023’s Hurricane Lidia. “Now I say, life comes first.”
In the Pacific tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, the skies were cloudy on Saturday but the sea was still relatively calm.
The government of Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located, declared a red alert for several municipalities. The airport has also suspended operations.
Torrential rains caused by Simon have already caused flooding in Acapulco, another major tourist destination further south.
But residents of Puerto Vallarta, which sits on a huge horseshoe-shaped bay that helps defuse the power of a hurricane, appeared largely unfazed by the threat. While shop owners sandbagged the entrances to their stores and boarded up the doors and windows, there was little sense of impending disaster.
“What people are most scared of is that the water will reach a tall height... like it did with Hurricane Kenna,” said Paulina Perez, who owns a furniture boutique on the boardwalk.
