A one-year-old boy died and thousands of people were left without power after Hurricane Erick made landfall on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast early on Thursday, bringing destructive winds, torrential rain and a powerful storm surge.
Authorities said the child slipped from his mother’s arms and drowned in a swollen river in the municipality of San Marcos, Guerrero.
The storm, which rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane before weakening slightly to Category 3 at landfall, struck between the resort cities of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido. It was the first hurricane to hit the country this season, which runs from May to November.
The US National Hurricane Center said Erick was expected to bring “potentially destructive winds and life-threatening flash flooding” across southern Mexico.
The hurricane made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 205kmph, according to Mexico’s national water commission, Conagua, with gusts reaching 250kmph.
By Thursday afternoon, Erick had weakened to a tropical depression but continued to dump heavy rain over Guerrero and Oaxaca states. The National Meteorological Service forecast rainfall of up to 41cm in some places and warned of flooding and landslides in mountainous regions.
More than 18,000 emergency personnel had been deployed in preparation for the storm and over 500 temporary shelters activated. In Acapulco, officials suspended all public activity and urged residents in flood-prone zones to relocate.
“We ask the people of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas to remain calm, to take refuge in safe places. The people have reacted very well so far,” president Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message.
Acapulco, still recovering from the devastating impact of Hurricane Otis in October 2023, saw huge waves crash over the esplanade in Puerto Escondido and flood parts of the beach town’s waterfront restaurants.
“We are all afraid because we think the same thing could happen,” shipping company employee Verónica Gómez, 40, said.
“Now it’s not going to catch us by surprise,” she added, holding a bag of canned food and water.
The port of Acapulco was closed Tuesday night ahead of the storm. Guerrero governor Evelyn Salgado announced that all movement in the region was suspended from 8pm and schools would remain closed on Thursday.
Conagua warned that rainfall could trigger “landslides and flooding in rivers and streams, as well as waves of six metres in height”.
As of Thursday evening, cleanup was underway. Navy personnel were deployed to clear blocked roads and restore services. Power outages were reported in multiple areas but there were no other confirmed fatalities yet.
The US National Hurricane Center noted that Erick’s rapid intensification was part of a broader trend. In 2023, there were 34 such incidents, nearly double the long-term average.
Erick is expected to fully dissipate over Mexico’s mountainous interior by Friday. However, weather forecasters say heavy rain will continue to pose risks over the next 24 hours.
