Agatha, the first hurricane of the season in the Mexican Pacific, was downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall on the southwest coast of the country as a Category 2.
Agatha made landfall earlier west of Puerto Angel, a beach community of about 2,500 people in the state of Oaxaca.
The National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that Agatha will continue to generate torrential rains in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco; as well as heavy to heavy rains that could generate landslides and flooding in southeastern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Also, strong winds are expected with gusts of 50 to 60 km / h and waves of 1 to 2 meters of significant height in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (coasts of Oaxaca and Chiapas, in addition to Tabasco and southern Veracruz.
On the other hand, a dry line, over northern Mexico, in combination with a low pressure channel, over the Mesa del Norte and Mesa Central, will produce showers, heavy rains and electric discharges in these regions, in addition to winds with gusts of 60 to 70 km / h and tolvaneras in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Durango.
Agatha quickly gained strength due to the high sea temperatures and the initial forecasts did not rule out that it would reach category 3.
The beaches of the Oaxacan coast looked cloudy and with the sea rough on Monday morning, while the inhabitants stocked up on water and food and protected homes and shops. Non-essential classes and activities were suspended in the affected area.
“The shelters are already open, people are already arriving (…), we are in a red spot, this is coming and coming strong,” Roberto Castillo, of Huatulco’s Civil Protection, told AFP.
The government of Oaxaca set up 203 temporary shelters with the capacity to house 26,800 people, and hotels were set up to receive tourists.
It has identified 5,240 domestic and foreign visitors in the risk zone in Oaxaca, which is home to resorts such as Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, popular with European tourists and American surfers.
Flood risk
Mexico’s Meteorological Service reported that the phenomenon will continue to cause heavy rains in Oaxaca and in regions of the neighboring states of Chiapas and Guerrero.
Authorities closed ports to shipping in those regions, while airlines began canceling flights to Huatulco International Airport, off the coast of Oaxaca, on Sunday.
In the area affected by the storm are located numerous and mighty rivers, so the Mexican Meteorological has warned of possible overflows and landslides.
Mexico suffers every year the onslaught of tropical cyclones both on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November.
The 2021 Pacific hurricane season, which runs from May 15 to November 30, was moderately active with 40 phenomena. Of those, 15 were hurricanes, according to the Mexican Meteorological.
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