Mexico assesses damage from hurricane

Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers on Friday as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region.

Torrential rains over steep coastal mountains and the landslides and flooding they could generate became the ongoing concern for officials after Erick dissipated following a landfall early Thursday on a sparsely populated stretch of coast.

The storm’s death toll remained at one Friday, a 1-year-old boy who drowned in a swollen river, President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She also said she planned to visit the affected region Friday.

Power had been restored to about half the 277,000 customers who lost it and soldiers, marines and National Guard were helping to remove debris and reopen roads in Guerrero and Oaxaca state where Erick passed.

Erick came ashore down southern Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning as a Category 3 major hurricane, but it landed between the resort cities of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido.

It dissipated on Thursday night over the mountains in Michoacan state.

Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding as coastal residents, above all in Acapulco, took the storm seriously with memories of the devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023 still fresh in their minds.

Erick had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coast but weakened before making landfall to a Category 3.

Having doubled in strength in less than a day, Erick churned through an ideal environment for quick intensification. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification - when a storm gains at least 55 kph in 24 hours - which is about twice the average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the hurricane centre.

Authorities had warned the heavy rain would become the problem.

On Friday, National Civil Defense Coordinator Laura Velázquez said a river in Juchitan, Oaxaca had spilled over its banks and some families had moved to shelter.

Forecasters had expected up to 40 centimetres of rain could fall across Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states.

The rainfall threatened flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.

Late Thursday, Guerrero state Civil Defense Director Roberto Arroyo said that a 1-year-old boy had died in San Marcos, an inland community southeast of Acapulco in the path of Erick.

Associated Press