The hurricane 'Simon' has intensified its strength to category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it approaches the Mexican coast, where torrential rains, flooding, and landslides with lethal potential are forecasted. This situation has led the authorities in Mexico to reinforce emergency plans and to ask the population to heed official instructions.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC, for its initials in English), based in Miami, communicated early Saturday morning that the cyclone has increased its maximum sustained winds to 240 kilometers per hour, placing 'Simon' within the group of major hurricanes.
According to projections from the U.S. agency, areas in the southwest of Mexico could accumulate between 25 and 50 centimeters of rain, with peaks of up to 76 centimeters in specific areas. The storm would mainly affect the coast of Jalisco and different regions of Michoacán, Colima, and Nayarit.
The NHC has emphasized that the effect of these precipitation events can be especially severe in mountainous areas, where the probability of flash floods and landslides significantly increases. "These rains will cause flooding and landslides that will endanger lives, especially in steep terrain areas," the meteorological agency has pointed out in its bulletin.
Models indicated that the hurricane could make landfall in the early hours of Sunday, although the effects associated with a tropical storm could be felt earlier due to its intensity and speed of movement. Therefore, the center has urged residents in at-risk areas to act immediately and take necessary measures to protect themselves ahead of the system's arrival.
Hours earlier, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, had informed about the evolution of the phenomenon through a message on social media: "The National Coordination of Civil Protection informs me that hurricane 'Simon' has intensified to category 3, according to the National Meteorological Service," she indicated.
Sheinbaum also warned of the forecast of very intense rains in the west and south of the country, with special impact in the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit, before the subsequent update from the NHC raised the system to category 4.
The leader has also called on the population to follow information through official channels, seek shelter, and leave areas of greater exposure when necessary. "It is important to take shelter and, in the case of vulnerable areas, evacuate to the temporary shelters set up," she emphasized.