Hurricane Simon, a powerful Category 3 storm, has battered Mexico’s west-central Pacific coast, bringing destructive winds and heavy rainfall to coastal communities and popular tourist destinations as authorities evacuate vulnerable residents and urge people to seek shelter.
The hurricane was moving parallel to the coastline early Monday, with its eye remaining offshore as it approached Puerto Vallarta.
Its maximum sustained winds had weakened to 115 mph, slightly above the 111 mph threshold for a Category 3 hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Despite the gradual weakening, forecasters warned that Simon would remain dangerous and could move inland across west-central Mexico around midweek.
“Simon is expected to move inland across west-central Mexico around midweek,” the centre said. “Slow weakening is forecast to continue. However, Simon is expected to remain a hurricane through midweek. Rapid weakening is likely after Simon moves inland.”
The storm’s centre was about 50 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes early Monday and moving northwest at approximately five miles per hour.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to 15 miles from its centre, while tropical-storm-force winds reached as far as 60 miles, putting communities along the coast and near the Sierra Madre mountains at risk.
A senior hurricane centre specialist, Philippe Papin, identified the westernmost tip of mainland Mexico as the area most likely to experience a direct hit.
He warned that the storm could cause severe damage through powerful winds, coastal flooding and torrential rainfall.
“We’re expecting catastrophic wind and life-threatening storm surge impacts along that west-central coast of Mexico where the hurricane warning is currently in effect,” Papin said.
“They’re also getting very heavy rainfall associated with the storm that’s likely going to produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides in areas of higher terrain along the Mexican coastline, and there will be significant swells.”
The hurricane centre forecast an additional two to four inches of rainfall, with some locations potentially receiving up to eight inches, across the states of Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa through early Thursday.
It also warned that isolated areas of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco could record as much as 30 inches of rain over the course of the storm, raising fears of deadly flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous areas.
“Isolated maximum storm totals of 30 inches are possible over portions of the states of Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco,” the centre said in its latest advisory.
“This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides or worsen any ongoing flooding, especially in areas of steep terrain.”
Puerto Vallarta, a major tourist destination in Jalisco State, was among the areas facing the threat.
National Guard vehicles patrolled the streets as police officers used megaphones to order people away from the waterfront and urged them to find shelter.
Authorities had closed the area to the public, although some residents continued jogging, walking their dogs and cycling near the coast.
Jalisco authorities suspended classes on Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating residents from high-risk locations.
Officials also directed businesses in the tourism sector to ensure that workers and visitors were accommodated in shelters or other safe locations.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appealed to residents of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to remain indoors until authorities confirmed that the danger had passed.
She also urged the public to follow civil protection guidelines and avoid travelling on public roads.
“Precautionary evacuation efforts to safe zones are ongoing; the priority is our safety,” she wrote.
The storm disrupted daily activities in Puerto Vallarta, with public transportation suspended and several hotels evacuating their premises.
Hotel worker Víctor Martínez said he had gone shopping for non-perishable food on Sunday afternoon because he could not report for work.
Martínez said the heightened concern among residents was reassuring, recalling the devastation caused by a Category 5 hurricane that struck the area in 2002.
“It happened to us before. It hit us years ago,” Martínez said, referring to a Category 5 hurricane that hit the area in 2002. “People didn’t expect it. We were very skeptical that it would ever hit us. Now, though, we’re different. Precautions are being taken. It happened to us once, and we won’t let it happen again.”
Despite the warnings, some tourists continued arriving in Puerto Vallarta.
Visitors Ricardo Ramírez and Brenda Villarreal, who had never experienced a hurricane, went out to look for food near the city’s boardwalk before encountering police officers directing people to safety.
The pair said they had travelled from Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco State, for a four-day holiday planned the previous year.
“We don’t know the extent of the danger yet,” Villarreal said. “We’re just starting to see what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, Simon was also expected to bring heavy rainfall to the southern Plains of the United States from Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning.
CBS News and Stations meteorologist Nikki Nolan said the region could receive between three and five inches of rain, with higher amounts possible in some locations.
The storm’s arrival followed an active period in the Pacific hurricane season, with Tropical Storm Polo having recently affected Mexico before moving towards the southwestern United States, where it contributed to heavy flooding.
