By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Hurricane Erick is rapidly strengthening off Mexico’s Pacific coast and is expected to intensify into a major Category 3 hurricane before making landfall, authorities said on Wednesday.
Erick is expected to be the first hurricane to hit Mexico this season, and would bring “life-threatening flash floods to portions of southern Mexico later tonight and Thursday,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a report.Â
“Rapid strengthening is expected today, and Erick may reach major hurricane strength when it approaches the coast of southern Mexico,” the center warned.
With maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), Erick is located 255 kilometers (about 160 miles) from the tourist enclave of Puerto Angel, where a hurricane warning is in effect.Â
Conditions are favorable for the storm’s intensification, and Mexico’s civil protection agency said it may reach Category 3 strength before landfall.
The agency’s head, Laura Velazquez, told a presidential press conference earlier in the day that the hurricane could make landfall between the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero on Thursday.
EMERGENCY PREPARATIONS
Up to 20 inches (about 50 cm) of rain is expected to hit the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, according to NHC.
Both states have begun emergency planning and taken preventive actions with local authorities. Over 18,000 first responders have been deployed and over 500 temporary shelters have been activated, according to authorities.
Mexican authorities are also coordinating evacuation and care efforts for tourists in popular beach destinations, including Acapulco.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to stay indoors and move to shelters if they are in flood-prone areas.
Mexico’s national water commission, Conagua, warned rainfall in coastal areas could trigger landslides and flooding, with waves reaching up to six meters high. Â
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; editing by Stefanie Eschenbacher, Rod Nickel and Alistair Bell)
