Hurricane Rick makes landfall in Mexican state of Guerrero
Mexico City, Oct 25 (EFE).- Hurricane Rick made landfall early Monday in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero and currently is drenching inland areas with heavy rain, the National Water Commission (Conagua) said.
“The center of Hurricane Rick, Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, made landfall near the municipality of La Union de Isidoro Montes de Oca, Guerrero, at 5 am local time (10 GMT),” that institution said on Twitter.
At 7 am, the hurricane’s eye had already moved several kilometers inland and was located 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the north-northeast of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan state, and 75 km to northwest of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) said.
“Its cloud bands are bringing very heavy rains … strong winds and storm surge in the country’s western and southern states,” the SMN said.
The hurricane is moving to the north at a speed of 13 km per hour and packing maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h, with gusts of up to 205 km/h.
The SMN forecasts that Rick’s cloud bands will produce “extraordinary rainfall amounts that could generate mudslides and flooding in parts of Michoacan and Guerrero, intense isolated rainfall in Jalisco (south) and Colima, as well as very heavy isolated rainfall in Guanajuato.”
The general population in those states therefore is urged to exercise caution and heed the recommendations of emergency management officials.
According to the SMN’s forecasts, Rick will weaken in the coming hours after moving over portions of the states of Guerrero, Michoacan and Jalisco.
Emergency management officials in recent hours have placed 11 Mexican states and 712 municipalities under a state of alert due to Hurricane Rick, while a red alert of “maximum danger” has been declared for the states of Guerrero and Michoacan.
Seventeen named storms have formed this year in the Eastern Pacific: Andres, Blanca, Carlos, Dolores, Enrique, Felicia, Guillermo, Hilda, Ignacio, Jimena, Kevin, Linda, Marty, Nora, Olaf, Pamela and Rick.
Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall in mid-June and caused three deaths from lightning strikes.
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season has produced a total of 20 named storms. The most devastating has been Grace, which left eight dead in the Mexican Gulf Coast state of Veracruz and three dead in the central state of Puebla. EFE
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