By Austyn Gaffney, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Fredy García
Tropical Storm John whipped western Mexico with strong winds and heavy rain early Tuesday, bringing the risk of flooding and landslides. It had weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on the Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm late Monday.
The storm’s effects were felt from the coast of Oaxaca to Acapulco, a resort city in the neighboring state of Guerrero, which was devastated last October when Hurricane Otis quickly transformed from a tropical storm into a Category 5 hurricane.
Key things to know about the storm:
— The storm intensified rapidly before weakening over land. John strengthened from tropical storm to a Category 3 hurricane Monday, packing winds of around 120 mph as it made landfall. It then weakened to a tropical storm again. Tropical storm warnings from Mexican authorities were in effect Tuesday from Punta Maldonado westward to Zihuatanejo.
— Residents should get ready for heavy rains. Forecasters are also predicting 6-12 inches of rain through Thursday, and up to 30 inches in isolated areas along the coastline. Heavy rains could cause catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides in Oaxaca, along with the Mexican states of Chiapas and Guerrero. Other regions could see as much as 12 inches of rain through Thursday that could cause life-threatening flood risks, especially near the coast.
On Monday, as the waves gradually began to swell on the beaches of Puerto Escondido, a famous tourist town in Oaxaca state, Carlos Jorge Ponce and other tour guides went out to bring dozens of boats ashore.
“It’s something we have been through before, and all that remains is to wait for the storm to pass,” said Ponce, 47. “There is a little nervousness.”
John’s constant rains had already generated some landslides, slowing traffic on a recently inaugurated highway.
The country’s electricity commission said that it had deployed nearly 1,400 electricians to the region, along with cranes and emergency power plants, to prevent and fix any power outages.
Civil protection authorities had started coordinating the opening of shelters in about 50 municipalities across Oaxaca.
“Although John’s trajectory has changed, it is still unstable, and we must continue monitoring the phenomenon,” said Esteban Vásquez Hernández, the civil protection coordinator in the region.
A recent study showed that rapid intensification like what John has undergone is now twice as likely, at least for Atlantic hurricanes, partially because of human-caused climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Earlier this year, Hurricane Beryl broke records when it became the earliest hurricane ever to reach Category 4 and then Category 5 intensity in the Atlantic Basin, with wind speeds increasing by 35 mph or more within a 24-hour period.
John is likely to bring damaging hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surge, or an unusually high rise in sea level and wave height that could cause flooding.
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