Erick quickly strengthens in front of Oaxaca and Guerrero coasts and becomes ‘Hurricane Mayor’ category 3

Erick quickly intensified on Wednesday to a “major hurricane” of category 3 as he headed towards the Mexican Pacific coast, between Oaxaca and Guerrero, where the early hours of Thursday will touch, said the National Hurricane Center of the United States (CNH).

At 18:00 local time (0000 GMT on Thursday), Erick was about 90 kilometers south-southeast of Puerto Ángel, a coastal town of Oaxaca, and blew maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (km/h), while traveling northwest at 15 km/h.

“Airplanehuracanes reports that Erick is a major hurricane,” said the CNH in his most recent report.

“It is expected to bring potentially destructive winds and potentially mortal sudden floods to parts of southern Mexico tonight and Thursday,” he added.

The international airport of the well -known tourist destination Acapulco reported on its X account that the flights scheduled for Thursday were suspended.

Erick will be the first hurricane to play land in Mexico in this season of Cyclones, which goes from May to November. According to estimates, the current hurricane season will be higher than the average, with between eight and 11 hurricanes and four to six major hurricanes.

Scientists warned that Erick could become the most intense hurricane in touching so early in the season along the Mexican Pacific coast.

According to the CNH, Erick will leave heavy rains that will cause floods and landslides, especially in areas of steep land, in the coastal states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero. The rains and strong winds would hit the tourist destinations Acapulco, Puerto Escondido, Huatulco, among others.

A category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale blows maximum sustained winds between 181 and 210 km/h, considered extremely dangerous and can cause structural damage to small buildings.

The government of President Claudia Sheinbaum raised the alert by yellow hurricane (moderate danger) in orange (high danger).

In addition, the president called on the population of the areas that will be affected to protect themselves at home or, if they live in low areas or near rivers channels, to move to enabled shelters. “Prevention and attention actions continue,” he said.