The hurricane John It hit the coasts of Oaxaca and Guerrero at 9:20 p.m. on Monday night and was downgraded to a tropical storm at 3:15 a.m., according to the United States National Hurricane Center and the National Meteorological Service (SMN). The storm has hit the Mexican Pacific as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with a maximum of 5. Its center is located 45 kilometers (km) north-northwest of Acapulco (Guerrero), with maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h and gusts of 140 km/h.
The estimates of the National Meteorological Service (SMN) have been met, which expected that John landed before 11:00 p.m., with particular intensity, 45 kilometers southeast of Punta Maldonado, a small town of about 900 inhabitants in Guerrero, between Copala, in the same state, and Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, in Oaxaca. A strip of less than 200 kilometers that has withstood the first blow of the hurricane.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has warned the population to take urgent measures, a few hours before the hurricane hit land. Through his X account, formerly Twitter, the president has declared: “Attention to all the people of the Costa Chica of Guerrero and from Cuajinicuilapa to Huatulco: Hurricane John It will make landfall in two hours as a Category 3 storm. Seek higher ground, protect yourselves and do not forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We will be watching.”
In its latest statement, published at 9:15 p.m., the SMN noted: “Its wide circulation [del huracán] generates extraordinary rainfall (over 250 mm) in Oaxaca and Guerrero; torrential rainfall (150 to 250 mm) in Chiapas; intense rainfall (75 to 150 mm) in Veracruz and Puebla, and very heavy rainfall (50 to 75 mm) in Tabasco; in addition, the cloud bands of John will increase the probability of heavy to very heavy rains in the center of the country, including the Valley of Mexico.”
The Navy has activated the Navy Plan “in its Prevention phase in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero and Quintana Roo.” Its troops have been deployed in Huatulco (Oaxaca), Acapulco and Puerto Chiapas to carry out “search, rescue and life-saving work if necessary, with the material and equipment required to provide support to the civilian population.” Its troops stationed in Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean, are also “on alert due to the strong gusts of wind and high waves caused by the potential for Tropical Cyclone Nine.”
At first, John The storm was approaching the Mexican coast as a tropical storm, but has evolved rapidly in recent hours, according to the US National Hurricane Center. “John is expected to continue to gain strength rapidly, and is expected to become a major hurricane before it makes landfall in southern Mexico on Tuesday,” the agency said in a statement. Once it moves inland, its intensity will decrease, although it will cause rain in much of the country.
Attentive notice to all people on the Costa Chica of Guerrero and from Cuajinicuilapa to Huatulco: Hurricane John will make landfall in two hours as a Category 3. Seek higher ground, protect yourselves and do not forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We will be watching.
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) September 24, 2024
The intensity of this cyclone has already set off alarms on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico. The Guerrero State Department of Education has announced the suspension of classes In Acapulco and the Costa Chica region, starting this Monday, September 23, in all public and private schools, at all educational levels, until further notice. Meanwhile, in Oaxaca, local authorities have also suspended classes in the coastal strip, from Pinotepa Nacional to the port of Salina Cruz.
It’s raining on wet ground in Guerrero. At the end of October 2023, the hurricane Otis devastated Acapulco and part of the state’s coast, which has been immersed in a slow and difficult reconstruction since then. Like John, Otis It began as a tropical storm and in nine hours it evolved into a Category 5 storm, the most serious. It was the climatic event that caused the greatest economic losses in 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): some 15 billion dollars in damages, in addition to fifty human losses and dozens of missing people swallowed by the sea. The arrival now of John puts the State on high alert for fear of facing a new Otis.
Authorities have established “prevention zones” for the effects of the hurricane from the east of Acapulco to Bahías de Huatulco, in Oaxaca, and from there to Salina Cruz, in the same state. The SMN has also extended calls to take extreme precautions due to rain, wind and waves (including maritime navigation) to the inhabitants of Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla, Tabasco, Michoacán and Morelos. The organization insists on the importance of “following the recommendations issued by the authorities of the National Civil Protection System, in each state.”
12:00 PM CST Key Messages on #Hurricane #John: John rapidly strengthens to a hurricane. John is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane before making landfall in southern #Mexico. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion. pic.twitter.com/ETpaepxLbo
— NHC Eastern Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) September 23, 2024
John will also hit the Oaxacan coast with wind gusts of between 160 and 180 kilometers per hour and waves of five to seven meters; wind gusts of 100 to 120 kilometers per hour with waves of three to five meters in Guerrero and gusts of 40 to 60 kilometers per hour with waves of one to three meters in Chiapas. The risks for Guerrero and Oaxaca are imminent. The aforementioned precipitations are expected to include electrical discharges and possible hail, which could cause landslides, increased levels of rivers and streams, as well as overflows and flooding.
The effect of John It extends from the Pacific coast to the central states. Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Tlaxcala are all expecting heavy rains as a result of this storm.
Meanwhile, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has said that it already has a plan for emergency response, resulting from the advance of John. “1,392 electrical workers, 220 cranes, 401 light vehicles, 1 communications vehicle, 49 emergency plants, 30 lighting towers and 4 helicopters have been deployed, located at strategic points,” the agency said. Mexico is preparing for a new hurricane.
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