Tropical Storm John hits Mexico and threatens severe flooding | Mexico

Tropical Storm John made landfall on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico and within hours became a major hurricane, posing a life-threatening flooding threat.

Late Monday, it made landfall near the city of Punta Maldonado as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). Early Tuesday, it weakened back to tropical storm status with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and was expected to weaken quickly.

Still, the United States National Hurricane Center warned that the storm's slow pace and heavy rains could potentially trigger catastrophic flash floods and mudslides in some Mexican states.

“Seek higher ground, protect yourselves and do not forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We are here,” wrote Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the social media platform X.

The storm was expected to devastate Punta Maldonado and the nearby tourist centers of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido before weakening over the inland plateaus.

The center said heavy rains over the coast of southwestern Mexico later this week were likely to cause “significant and potentially catastrophic, life-threatening flash floods and mudslides” in parts of the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero.

On Tuesday morning, the storm was located 100 km north-northwest of Acapulco and moving northwest at 13 km/h. It is forecast to track along the coastal mountains and even drift back out over the Pacific, but will continue to weaken throughout the day.

The unexpected increase in strength on Monday surprised scientists, authorities and residents in the region. Matt Benz, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, attributed it to the warmer oceans, which further fuel hurricanes.

As a result, unexpected increases in hurricane intensity are becoming more common, Benz said.

“These are storms we've never seen before,” he said. “Rapid intensification has occurred more frequently in modern times than in the past. That tells us something is going on.”

As the weather forecast changed and authorities responded, a tense mood prevailed among residents of Oaxaca's coastal towns.

Laura Velázquez, the federal coordinator for civil protection, called on residents of cities on the Pacific coast to leave their homes and go to emergency shelters to “protect their lives and those of their families.”

“It is very important that all citizens in the coastal zone … take preventive measures,” Velázquez said.

The governor of Oaxaca said the state government had evacuated 3,000 people and set up 80 shelters, and deployed 1,000 soldiers and civil servants to deal with the emergency.

In Puerto Escondido, tourists walked through the pouring rain in flip-flops and fishermen pulled their boats out of the water. Heavy rains in recent days have already left some roads in the region in a precarious state.

The storm is grim news for the region, which was already hit by Otis, a similar, rapidly intensifying hurricane, in 2023.

Otis devastated the resort town of Acapulco, whose residents had little information about the strength of the impending storm. Scientists said at the time that it was one of the fastest-growing hurricanes on record and that this was due to changing climate conditions.

Otis caused power outages in the city for days, left bodies strewn along the coast and desperate family members searching for their lost loved ones. Lawlessness reigned in much of the city, and thousands searched stores for food and water.

The López Obrador government has been sharply criticized for its slow response to Otis, but authorities have now pledged to speed up the response.

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration plans to work on improving an early warning system similar to the one the country has for earthquakes.