Hurricane hits Mexico

Hurricane Raymond swirls off Mexico, dumps heavy rain on Acapulco

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Ports were closed, school classes were suspended and hundreds of people were evacuated Monday along Mexico's southern Pacific coast as a major hurricane loomed over a region still recovering from record flooding a few weeks ago.

Reuters,

21 October, 2013

Raymond, a category three hurricane, was stationary about 100 miles offshore with winds blowing up to 120 mph on Monday. Forecasters said it could head west as the week progresses without hitting land.

However, the hurricane was already dumping steady rain on coastal areas including Acapulco, where storms wrecked homes, roads and cars and stranded tourists last month.

By early afternoon, parts of the city were drenched in water, its port was closed and many roads were washed out.

The Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said Raymond, the first major hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season, was likely to strengthen over the next day or so and could churn closer to the coast later on Monday and Tuesday.

Mexico has no major oil installations in the area threatened by Raymond, which has swirled around 160 miles west-southwest of Acapulco since Sunday night. The hurricane was about 105 miles south-southwest of the city of Zihuatanejo at 3:00 p.m.

Mexico's Gulf Coast is also facing heavy rains due to the advance of a cold front from the north, which has halted Raymond's progress in the south, the government said.

"If (Raymond) carries on moving at this speed and the cold front keeps holding it, we'll have permanent rain for the next 72 hours," Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's national emergency services, told a news conference in Acapulco.

Hurricane alerts are in place from Acapulco, in Guerrero state, to Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan state. More than 800 people have been evacuated from the northwestern fringe of Guerrero down to Acapulco, emergency services said.

Anticipating heavy rains, schools closed in Acapulco, Lazaro Cardenas and other parts of the southwestern coast. The port in Lazaro Cardenas was also closed, the government said.

Rainfall during the next few days could trigger life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, the NHC said.

Angel Aguirre, the governor of Guerrero, urged people to leave areas at high risk of flooding, and Michoacan's government said all maritime activity and road travel should be avoided.

Mexico suffered its worst floods on record in mid-September, when tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid converged from the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, killing more than 150 people and causing damage estimated at around $6 billion.

Some 5,700 people are still living in shelters in Acapulco due to the impact of those storms, the Guerrero government said.

Acapulco, whose economy relies heavily on tourism, saw hotel occupancy rates plunge to record lows after the storms, which also knocked out the city's airport for a time. As of Monday afternoon, Acapulco's airport was still open.

The flooding, mud slides and displacement of thousands of people caused by the recent storms have heightened the risk of waterborne illness in Mexico. The country has recorded its first local transmission of cholera in just over a decade.