Hurricane Agatha formed in Mexican Pacific waters on Sunday and is expected to strengthen before making landfall on the country’s southwest coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. This region includes the tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite.
Agatha, category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which has 5, was located 320 km west of Puerto Angel in Mexico and was developing winds of 120 km / h in gusts, while moving towards northwest at about 6 km/h. The hurricane seemed to strengthen this Sunday evening, according to the NHC.
The hurricane, the first of the season in Pacific waters, is expected to turn northeast later in the day on Sunday and continue slowly through Monday evening. “Based on the forecast track, Agatha will approach the southern coast of Mexico later Sunday and make landfall there on Monday,” the NHC report said.
Risk of floods and landslides
The hurricane will cause heavy rains in areas of the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca and very heavy rains in areas of the neighboring states of Guerrero and Tabasco (southeast), the National Weather Service said ( SMN) of Mexico.
It will also reinforce the entry of humidity from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, causing heavy rains in the states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Veracruz and Yucatan, located on the east coast of the country. “Rainfall could cause landslides, increased river levels as well as flooding,” the SMN warned.
Mexico is hit by tropical cyclones on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts every year, usually between May and November.