At least two people have died in southern Mexico following the passage of the hurricane Johndowngraded to a tropical storm on Tuesday, local authorities announced.
“The deaths of two people have been reported due to a landslide” that affected their home in the community of Tlacoachistlahuaca, Evelyn Salgado, governor of the state of Guerrero, announced at a press conference.
John made landfall in the southwest of the country on Monday as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (out of 5), prompting a warning of strong winds and torrential rain.
In the evening, it was downgraded to category 2 and on Tuesday to a tropical storm.
According to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 12:00 GMT (8:00 a.m. in Quebec), the phenomenon was located 10 km from the seaside resort of Acapulco with sustained winds of 85 km/h.
“It was a powerful phenomenon, with a lot of rain,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at his morning press conference.
Coastal cities in Guerrero state have been particularly hard hit by heavy rains, road closures, power outages and the suspension of classes and activities, Salgado said.
The neighboring state of Oaxaca was also affected.
The national civil protection agency issued a red alert on Monday, asking people in affected areas to stay inside buildings and away from windows.
The Ravages of Otis
The storm is bad news for the region, which has been hit by Otisin 2023, leaving more than 40 dead and around fifty missing.
The Hurricane Otis had devastated the seaside resort of Acapulco, where residents were not warned of the force of what was about to hit them. Otis It was one of the most intense hurricanes ever observed and scientists said at the time that it was the product of changing climate conditions.
Otis cut power to the city for days, leaving bodies strewn across the coast and family members desperate to find missing loved ones. Much of the city was left in a state of anarchy, with thousands of people scouring stores, scrambling for food and water.
The Lopez Obrador government has been harshly criticized for its slow response to Otisbut authorities have since pledged to step up their pace.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said her government plans to work to improve an early warning system, similar to the one the country has for earthquakes.
By Thursday, John expected to dump between 15 and 30 centimeters of rain on coastal areas of the state of Chiapas, with more in isolated areas. In areas along and near the coast from Oaxaca to southeast Guerrero, between 25 and 50 centimeters of rain are expected.