ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — With a steady rain falling on Acapulco, residents and remaining tourists emerged Thursday evening to walk outside or visit the few open businesses as the tropical depression that once was powerful Hurricane Erick scraped by just inland of the resort.
Erick came ashore down southern Mexico's Pacific coast in the morning as a Category 3 major hurricane, but it landed in a sparsely populated stretch of coastline between resorts Acapulco and Puerto Escondido.
Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding, but no deaths as coastal residents, above all in Acapulco, took the storm seriously with memories of devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023 still fresh in their minds.
In Puerto Escondido, fishermen searched for and inspected storm-tossed boats.
The threat of heavy rain remained in the mountains that rise abruptly behind Acapulco's famed beaches. Erick spent the day dragging through the coastal mountain range dropping torrential quantities of rain. It was expected to dissipate Thursday night over the mountains in Michoacan state.
Erick once had Category 4 strength
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Erick was centered about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north-northwest of Acapulco Thursday evening. Its maximum sustained winds were 35 mph (55 kph), making it a tropical depression. It was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).
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 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the hurricane center.
Storm moves south on approach
At first light Thursday, Acapulco awoke under ominous dark clouds. Rain started later in the morning with the arrival of stronger winds. There was light traffic in the streets.
Some residents shopped in the few open stores, fishermen went to the shore to check their boats and a few people took advantage of the calm for a quick swim.
The storm tore into a stretch of coastline near the border of Oaxaca and Guerrero states, where agricultural fields outnumbered tourists. Erick then weakened rapidly as it crashed into the coastal mountains of southern Mexico.
The storm moved northwest just inland up the coast through midday, bringing heavy rain to the resort. But Acapulco had dodged the worst at least in terms of Erick’s strong winds.
No injuries reported
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday “the people have reacted very well so far.”
National Civil Defense Coordinator Laura Velázquez said Thursday that at the moment there were no reports of injuries. Water entered a public hospital in the Oaxaca resort of Huatulco, and there were fallen trees, cuts to power and landslides blocking highways.
But authorities warned the heavy rain would now become the problem.
Forecasters expected up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) 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.
Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado urged residents of her state Thursday to not grow complacent after Erick made landfall in neighboring Oaxaca.
“In Guerrero we continue on maximum alert, Erick is still a danger with the intense rains, it could drop on our state in the coming hours,” she said.
Acapulco still scarred by Otis
Acapulco residents had braced for Erick’s arrival with more preparation and trepidation because of the memory of the devastation two years earlier.
The city of nearly 1 million was hit in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort’s hotels.
On Thursday morning, Marcial Gallardo, a 60-year-old waiter stepped into the water of Acapulco's bay for a quick swim with his son. He said he takes a dip every day. Gallardo said he had tied down everything ahead of Erick after Otis had torn apart his home, and so far had fared well.
In Acapulco Thursday, there was a strong presence of National Guard and police in the streets, but most visible were trucks from the national power company. Crews worked to clear drainage canals and brush.
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Cruz reported from Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
Fabiola Sánchez And Luis Alberto Cruz, The Associated Press
