MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Hurricane John strengthened once again on Thursday as it closed in on Mexico’s southwestern coast dotted with ports and tourist hotspots, an area already soaked by the slow-moving storm system over the past several days.
John has churned menacingly near the stretch of coastline since Monday, weakening and strengthening again as it impacted major cargo ports, temporarily shutting local airports as well as claiming at least five lives, mostly due to mudslides.
“We’re asking you to please take all precautions,” wrote Guerrero state Governor Evelyn Salgado in a post on X on Thursday morning.
Beach-front restaurants in Acapulco, one of the state’s top resort areas, were battered by a rising tide on Wednesday while nearby roadways were flooded as a steady rain fell.
Acapulco is still recovering from major destruction caused by Hurricane Otis last year.
John also has cut power to tens of thousands and littered roadways with uprooted trees and fallen electricity posts.
The Category 1 hurricane is located about 55 miles (89 km) southwest of the major cargo port of Lazaro Cardenas, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (121 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The Miami-based center expects the hurricane to skirt Mexico’s southwest coast, along Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan states, further drenching the area through at least Saturday.
“This heavy rainfall will likely cause significant and catastrophic life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides,” it warned.
John is moving northwest along the coast at just 4 miles per hour (6 kph), the center added.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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