Tropical Storm John made landfall near Aquila, Michoacán just before noon (CST) on Friday.
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) warned residents of four Pacific coast states to take extreme precautions against flash-flooding and mudslides as Tropical Storm John moves along the coast of southwestern Mexico today and tonight.
The SMN warned of “extraordinary” rainfall in Colima, Michoacán and Guerrero, and torrential rains in the state of Jalisco which could prompt catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides.
The federal government ordered 25,000 additional soldiers, sailors and members of the National Guard to the affected areas, while officials on the ground have been rescuing people trapped in flooded areas.
After making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Monday in Punta Maldonado, Guerrero, John drifted west and regained strength in the Pacific Ocean. It re-entered mainland Mexico on Friday as a tropical storm with sustained winds of 75 km/hr.
Following four days of heavy rainfall, many areas of Acapulco are under water, and authorities on Thursday were patrolling in boats to rescue people from low-lying neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, in Mexico… Hurricane #John has been causing devastating flooding around Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico: pic.twitter.com/MX6QTuZm0d
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) September 26, 2024
According to the newspaper Forbes, eight people in Guerrero and two people in Oaxaca have died due to the consequences of Hurricane John. Other sources have put the death toll in Guerrero at 13.
In addition to causing severe flooding and deadly mudslides across the state, nearly 100,000 residents of Guerrero were without electricity between Tuesday and Thursday.
Referring to John as a “Zombie hurricane,” Reuters reported that the tropical storm “hurled rain at Mexico’s southwestern coast … an area already soaked by the slow-moving storm system over the past several days.”
A “zombie” storm refers to weather systems that dissipate before strengthening back into a storm.
The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast tropical storm conditions throughout Friday across all areas where tropical storm warnings were issued, including coastal cities between Punta Maldonado, Guerrero, and Manzanillo, Colima.
The SMN projects John to be downgraded to a tropical depression by Saturday before transitioning into a post-tropical cyclone as it moves out to sea, though its outer bands could still drop considerable rain on Mexico’s central Pacific coast.
With reports from The New York Times, Reuters, Excelsior, lopezdoriga.com, Forbes and La Jornada
