Southern Mexico launched a major cleanup effort on Thursday following the impact of Hurricane Erick, which struck the Pacific coast as a powerful Category 3 storm.
The popular tourist destination of Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca state was left without electricity and phone service after the hurricane severely damaged infrastructure, including two hospitals, and caused widespread flooding on the streets.
Fortunately, no casualties or injuries have been reported so far. Erick quickly weakened to a Category 1 hurricane shortly after making landfall, but the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that flooding and hurricane-force winds would continue as the storm moved northward.
The NHC also cautioned about a potentially “life-threatening” storm surge following the hurricane’s passage. Meanwhile, Mexico’s environment ministry issued warnings of waves reaching up to 10 meters (33 feet). Hundreds of soldiers were deployed to assist with cleanup operations in Puerto Escondido, where several buildings were damaged and streets remained flooded near the landfall area.
Luis Alberto Gil, a 44-year-old shop owner whose business was flooded, told AFP that the water “had never risen to this extent before.”
The state-owned power company CFE reported that over 120,000 customers in Oaxaca lost electricity, with service restored to roughly a quarter of them by late morning.
Winds in the state reached speeds of up to 125 mph (205 km/h) just before slowing to 85 mph.
About 250 miles (400 km) north along the Pacific coast, the city and port of Acapulco was mostly deserted as residents followed evacuation advisories. Shops were boarded up, and tourist boats remained docked as people prepared for the storm.
Many had stocked up on essentials like food, water, and gasoline the day before.
Warnings remained active on Thursday for potentially deadly flooding and mudslides in Oaxaca and neighboring Guerrero, along with the risk of a life-threatening storm surge along the coast.
The NHC stated that Erick was expected to continue rapidly weakening and likely dissipate by late Thursday.
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to stay indoors and advised those living in low-lying or river-adjacent areas to seek shelter. About 2,000 shelters were prepared in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca ahead of the storm.
Southern Mexico had only recently endured severe damage from Hurricane Otis in 2023, a Category 5 storm that killed at least 50 people when it struck Acapulco.
Otis’s rapid intensification caught many residents off guard, leaving them unprepared when the hurricane made landfall.
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