John as a tropical storm hits Mexico's Pacific coast a 2nd time

[September 28, 2024]  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm John made its second landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast Friday, while in its wake authorities in the resort city of Acapulco called for help from anyone with a boat to deal with the flooding.

John came ashore near Tizupan in Michoacan state Friday with sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kmh) after making its initial landfall farther east on the coast on Monday as a Category 3 hurricane. Hours later it dissipated over the coastal mountains, but heavy rain was forecast to continue in the area, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

It blew tin roofs off houses, triggered mudslides and toppled scores of trees. After weakening inland, it reemerged over the ocean, reforming as a tropical storm Wednesday and eventually regaining hurricane strength.

At least eight people have died as a result of the storm.

The rain has been the real problem. A year's worth in a matter of days has pounded the coastal mountains setting off landslides and severe flooding in Acapulco and elsewhere.

The flooding is so bad in Acapulco — which still hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Otis last October — that the head of the municipal civil defense agency said authorities were starting to use boats inside the city to rescue people from low-lying neighborhoods. Residents posted videos and photos of cars floating away in floodwaters, and people rescued from raging waters using life lines.

The city government called for anyone with a boat or personal watercraft to contribute them to rescue efforts in flooded neighborhoods. Gov. Evelyn Salgado said on X that tourism companies were starting to use personal watercraft and other small boats to rescue people in Acapulco.

“We are getting boats to start carrying out more effective evacuations,” Efrén Valdez, civil protection coordinator for Acapulco, told the Milenio Television station. “The situation is very complicated.”

Residents work together to push a vehicle stuck on a street flooded by the passing of Hurricane John, in Acapulco, Mexico, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernardino Hernandez)

Authorities reported they had performed an “important” number of water rescues Friday and that Acapulco's airport remained closed. The main highway connecting the coastal resort with Mexico City had also been blocked intermittently by landslides.

The area had received a year's worth of precipitation in a matter of days. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that more than 1,200 people were in shelters.

The rain was also setting off landslides and collapsing retention walls in the steep mountains above the city.

Officials have confirmed one boy was swept away by floodwaters in Acapulco and four others were killed in other parts of the coastal state of Guerrero, where Acapulco is located. Gov. Salomón Jara of the neighboring state of Oaxaca, said three people had died there as a result of floods or mudslides related to John.

John was churning along the coast of Michoacan state early Friday about 55 miles (85 kilometers) west of the port Lazaro Cardenas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was moving north-northwest at 3 mph (6 kmh). The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (85 kph).

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