PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Two people died after former Hurricane John slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, blowing tin roofs off homes, triggering mudslides and toppling dozens of trees, authorities said Tuesday.
John strengthened into a major hurricane within hours Monday and made landfall about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of the resort city of Acapulco before weakening to a tropical storm after moving inland.
John made landfall near the town of Punta Maldonado late Monday night as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). It weakened to tropical storm status early Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and is expected to weaken quickly.
Evelyn Salgado, governor of the coastal state of Guerrero, said two people died when the storm caused a mudslide that crashed into their home on the remote mountain of Tlacoachistlahuaca (TLAH-ko-chis-tla-waka), farther from the coast.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that the storm’s slow movement and heavy rains could cause flash flooding and potentially catastrophic mudslides in some areas. Mexican States.
“Seek higher ground, protect yourself and remember that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We are here,” wrote Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the social network X.
Lincer Casiano Clemente, mayor of the town of Marquelia, near where the hurricane struck the coast, said early Tuesday that “there are many houses, mainly those with tin roofs, where the force of the air has ripped the roof off.”
The mayor said no deaths or injuries had been reported in Marquelia so far, which he attributed to its ability to warn residents of the storm’s approach. But power was out across large parts of the coast and highways were blocked by fallen trees. The government said some 60,000 people remained without electricity.
“We’ve never seen gusts this strong,” the mayor said. By Tuesday morning, people were already out looking for food, he said.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm was 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of Acapulco and moving northwest at 12 mph (19 km/h). It was expected to linger along the coastal mountains and possibly dive back into the Pacific, but would continue to weaken throughout the day.
The hurricane center said heavy rains on Mexico’s southwest coast this week were likely to cause “significant and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, endangering lives” in parts of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero states.
Monday’s unexpected surge caught scientists, officials and local residents by surprise, which AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz attributed to warmer oceans, which fuel hurricanes.
As a result, unexpected increases in hurricane strength have become more frequent, Benz said.
“These are storms that we’ve never really seen before,” he said. “Rapid intensification has happened more frequently in modern times than in historical times. So that tells us that something is going on.”
The storm is bad news for the region, which was hit by Otis, a similar, rapidly intensifying hurricane, in 2023.
Otis devastated the seaside resort of Acapulcowhere residents had little warning of the force of what was about to hit them. One of the fastest hurricanes ever observed, according to scientists at the time a product of changing climatic conditions.
Otis cut off power to the town for days, leaving bodies strewn across the coast and families desperate to find their missing loved ones. was left in a state of anarchy and thousands of people rummaged through stores, scrambling to find food and water.
López Obrador’s government has been heavily criticized for its slow response to Otis, but officials have since pledged to pick up the pace.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum She said her government planned to work on improving an early warning system, similar to the one the country has for earthquakes.
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AP reporter María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report. Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
