Hurricane John hit Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Monday as a major Category 3 storm, prompting residents to seek shelter indoors.
John made landfall near Marquelia, Guerrero state, with winds of up to 121 mph (195 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
“Damaging hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surges and flash flooding continue,” the report warned.
“Slow-moving Hurricane John will bring very heavy rainfall to coastal areas of southwestern Mexico over the next week,” the NHC said, placing John in the third-highest category on the five-stage Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale.
“These heavy rainfall events are likely to cause significant and potentially catastrophic, life-threatening flooding” in the southern states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero, the report said.
A hurricane warning was in effect from east of Acapulco to Bahias de Huatulco on the Pacific coast.
“After making landfall, the system will rapidly weaken over the high mountains of southern Mexico,” the NHC said.
President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador previously warned people living along the affected coastline to be prepared.
“Seek higher, protect yourself and remember that life is the most important thing; material things are replaceable,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
The national civil protection agency has issued a red alert, urging people to stay indoors and away from windows.
Authorities in Oaxaca said they were opening temporary shelters, suspending school classes, closing beaches and deploying machinery to clear roads if needed.
The international airport of the tourist resort of Puerto Escondido has suspended all flights.
In Guerrero, authorities said about 300 temporary shelters were ready if needed.
Restaurant staff were seen moving furniture from the beach as fishermen returned to shore.
Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November.
Last October, Hurricane Otis, a massive Category 5 hurricane, left a trail of destruction and claimed dozens of lives after hitting the coastal city of Acapulco in Guerrero.
Within hours, Otis quickly evolved from a tropical storm to the most powerful category on the five-stage Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, surprising authorities.
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