Two people have been killed in a landslide after Hurricane John hit Mexico’s southern coast Monday night, bringing heavy rains and warnings of life-threatening flooding.
According to the National Hurricane Center, John hit the coast with sustained winds of up to 120 mph (193 km/h) when the hurricane made landfall southwest of the city of Marquelia in the state of Guerrero at around 9:15 p.m. local time.
John has weakened to a tropical storm and is moving northwest of the coastal city of Acapulco in Oaxaca state. Its slow movement and interaction with nearby mountains will likely contribute to “catastrophic rainfall along the coast and inland,” the National Hurricane Center said.
The two people who died were in their home in the Guerrero town of Tlacoachistlahuaca when a landslide occurred after heavy rains, Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda said Tuesday.
Just a day earlier, the storm had reached wind speeds of 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour), but in a 24-hour period the force increased twice as quickly, making the storm more than three times as powerful.
The storm could re-emerge over the ocean and intensify again as its center “hugs the southern coast of Mexico,” the National Hurricane Center said. Regardless of its erratic movement, John is expected to continue to produce heavy rainfall and life-threatening flooding across southern Mexico for the next several days.
Oaxaca’s governor said the state government had evacuated 3,000 people and set up 80 shelters, while authorities suspended classes in several coastal areas on Tuesday, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Businesses in Puerto Escondido, a tourist hotspot in the south of the state, have closed after authorities ordered the suspension of all work on the area’s main beaches, the news agency reported.
Ana Aldai, who works in a restaurant there, told AP she was “a little upset” because authorities were notified quickly.
“There was no way to make the necessary purchases,” she said.
The Mexican government has changed the hurricane warning from east of Acapulco to Lagunas de Chacahua to a tropical storm warning. All hurricane warnings have been lifted.
Downpours of 6 to 12 inches are expected, with isolated totals of around 15 inches in coastal areas of Chiapas. Areas along and near the coast from Oaxaca to southeastern Guerrero could receive between 10 and 20 inches of rain through Thursday, with isolated totals of around 30 inches. The rainfall is likely to cause significant flooding and mudslides in the rugged terrain.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com