Puerto Escondido (Mexico) (AFP) – Hurricane Erick killed at least two people as it swept through southern Mexico, causing significant damage to coastal communities before weakening to a low-pressure system Thursday night, authorities said. A man was electrocuted while helping with debris removal in the southern Oaxaca state, where Erick made landfall, after handling high-voltage cables near a stream, the state government said. A child died in neighboring Guerrero state after being swept away by a swollen stream as his mother tried to carry him across in the town of San Marcos, civil protection authorities reported.
The US National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory at 0300 GMT said Erick had weakened overnight to a tropical storm located 95 miles (155 kilometers) from Acapulco port, with sustained winds of 30 mph (50 km/h) as it moved across southern Mexico on Thursday. Coastal communities in Oaxaca, including Lagunas de Chacahua, home to around 2,800 people, were directly hit by the storm, which destroyed thatched roofs and flooded streets. “It was very strong, very ugly…the entire town is homeless, without clothes, we have no help,” Francisca Avila, a 45-year-old housewife, told AFP as she surveyed the loss of most of her belongings.
In the tourist town of Puerto Escondido, residents and emergency personnel worked to drain flooded streets and clear debris left behind as the storm knocked over trees and street signs, and buried boats under sand on the beach. Much of the town of about 30,000 people was left without electricity or cellphone coverage. The water “had never hit with this magnitude” in Puerto Escondido, 44-year-old merchant Luis Alberto Gil, whose shop was among those flooded, told AFP.
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced during her morning briefing that heavy rains are still expected in the southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas, as well as Veracruz and Puebla. She thanked the population for following the authorities’ recommendations “very responsibly,” in a message shared on her social media. The president reported 15 road sections closed in the state of Oaxaca, as well as more than 123,000 users affected by power outages.
Memories of Otis – Mexico sees major storms every year, usually between May and November, on both its Pacific and Caribbean coasts. In October 2023, Acapulco, a major port and beach resort in Guerrero, was pummeled by Hurricane Otis, a powerful Category 5 storm that killed dozens of people. Hurricane John, another Category 3 storm that hit in September last year, caused about 15 deaths. Sheinbaum had urged people to avoid going out and advised those living in low-lying areas or near rivers to move to shelters — some 2,000 of which had been set up in Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca in anticipation.
“Since (Erick) just made landfall, we are in contact with the Defense (department) and the Navy, who are in the area, and we will be able to inform in a few hours what the effects are on these populations,” she said at her daily press conference Thursday morning. Restaurants remained shuttered in Puerto Escondido, even though some tourists insisted on staying and riding out the storm. Around 250 miles (400 kilometers) north along the Pacific coast, Acapulco — a major port and resort city famous for its nightlife — was largely deserted Thursday as residents heeded calls to hunker down, with shops boarded up and tourist boats grounded. Many had stocked up the day before on food, water, and gasoline.
© 2024 AFP
