Hurricane Erick makes landfall in Mexico as Category 3 storm

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Erick made landfall along Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 3 storm on Thursday morning, unleashing destructive winds and torrential rain, leading to life-threatening flooding, a potentially deadly storm surge, mudslides and landslides.

Hurricane Erick underwent rapid intensification on Wednesday, which occurs when a tropical cyclone’s maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph over a 24-hour period.

As of Thursday morning, Hurricane Erick had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and was moving off to the northwest at about 9 mph.

The Mexican government issued Hurricane Warnings from Acapulco to Puerto Angel, with various tropical alerts also in effect to the north and south of those Hurricane Warnings.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Hurricane Erick is expected to make landfall in the western portions of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, or the eastern portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero on Thursday morning.

The storm is then expected to continue to move inland across Mexico’s mountainous terrain.

Residents across the region were urged to prepare for the life-threatening impacts from Hurricane Erick, with Mexican Pres. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announcing that all activities have been suspended in the region.

She also told residents to stay home for safety or to move into shelters if living in low-lying areas.

In addition, Guerrero state Gov. Evelyn Salgado Pineda warned residents and visitors to be on alert as the storm is expected to cause significant damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure, as well as producing torrential rain leading to life-threatening flooding and landslides.

The mountainous terrain between Mexico City and the coast is expected to quickly unravel the hurricane, but not before mudslides and flooding impact communities across the region.

The NHC said Erick is expected to produce rainfall totals of 8-12 inches, with locally higher totals of up to 16 inches in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.

Conditions are also expected to be dangerous along the coast, with a life-threatening storm surge that will lead to coastal flooding near and to the east of where the center crosses the coast, in areas of onshore winds.

The storm surge will also be accompanied by large, destructive waves. Those waves will also lead to life-threatening rip currents at beaches, and people are being warned to stay out of the water.

Hurricane Erick revives horrific memories of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco

Being a major hurricane, Erick will set the record for being the strongest June cyclone to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast, triggering some memories of Hurricane Otis in 2023.

Otis was the strongest hurricane to ever impact Acapulco, with sustained winds of 165 mph, but due to the cyclone’s unpredictable nature, many were caught off guard by its fury.

Mexican authorities reported more than 50 deaths and damage estimates that eclipsed $10 billion from the late-season disaster.