Hurricane John made landfall in Mexico as a major Category 3 storm

Hurricane John slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast late Monday as a major Category 3 storm, with authorities warning residents to brace against potentially deadly storm surges and torrential rain.

The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (193 km/h), made landfall south-southwest of Marquelia in Guerrero state around 9:15 p.m. central time, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. of the US in a statement.

Although the movement was slow, it quickly strengthened during the day and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged coastal residents to seek higher ground, while the top disaster agency issued a red alert for parts of Guerrero and the neighboring state of Oaxaca.

“Remember that life is the most important thing – material things can be replaced,” the president wrote on social media.

The storm could bring “extraordinary” rainfall to parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca, with more than 250 mm (10 inches), said the national water commission Conagua, which predicted more than 150 mm (6 inches) would drench the southernmost state of Chiapas .

The Miami Hurricane Center warned that the storm could bring life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding before moving inland into southern Mexico on Tuesday and rapidly weakening over the region’s high ground.

In the usually laid-back surfers’ getaway of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, residents rushed to haul in boats and put away lounge chairs Monday.

“We’re very concerned,” restaurant owner Paula Sanchez said, adding that hurricanes in the area have gotten stronger in recent years.

Education officials ordered schools to close in parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero as the storm approaches, and state-run firm CFE said it was moving convoys of workers to Oaxaca ahead of John’s arrival.

A hurricane warning was declared for areas from the famous beach resort of Acapulco, still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Otis, as far east as the Oaxacan tourist center of Huatulco.

A tropical storm warning covered areas further east from Huatulco to the major port of Salina Cruz, home to Mexico’s state oil company Pemex’s largest domestic refinery.

The NHC warned that heavy rains from John could cause “significant and possibly catastrophic, life-threatening flash floods and mudslides” in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and southeastern Guerrero through Thursday.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City and Fredy Garcia in Puerto Escondido; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)

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Catastrophe Natural Disasters Storm Hurricane Mexico