PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) Mexico’s top disaster agency on Monday issued a red alert for parts of the country’s south Pacific coast as Hurricane John rapidly intensified into a Category 2 storm and threatened to make landfall and become more powerful.
The National Civil Protection Agency issued its strongest warning for coastal areas of Guerrero and Oaxaca in southern Mexico, warning residents to shelter in place until authorities allow them to evacuate.
Due to the storm’s current path, it will hit the coast between Copala, Guerrero state, and the Santiago Pinotepa National Park in Oaxaca state between 9 pm local time (0300 GMT) and 1 am, the agency said.
The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, is approaching about 30 miles (48 kilometers) near Punta Maldonado, Guerrero state, bringing flooding, storm surges and hurricane-force winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned.
The Miami-based hurricane center said in a statement that the storm could intensify late Monday night or Tuesday morning.
The National Hurricane Center said, “John has the potential to become a major hurricane before it reaches the southern coast of Mexico.”
In Puerto Escondido, a normally quiet surfer resort in Oaxaca state, residents quickly parked their boats and put away their beach chairs on Monday.
“We are very worried,” said restaurant owner Paula Sanchez. She added that storms in the area have become more powerful in recent years.
“Let’s hope God can stop this storm,” Sanchez said.
As the storm approached, education officials announced school closures in parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero states, and Mexico’s state power company CFE said it would send a convoy of workers to Oaxaca ahead of John’s arrival.
Hurricane warnings were issued for areas from the popular seaside resort of Acapulco, still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Otis , to the tourist hub of Huatulco in the eastern state of Oaxaca.
The tropical storm warning stretched from east of Huatulco to the main port of Salina Cruz, home to the biggest domestic refinery of Mexico’s state oil company Pemex (PEMX.UL).
The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that John’s heavy rains could cause severe, potentially catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and landslides in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and southeastern Guerrero through Thursday.
