Hurricane Simon lashed vulnerable resorts and towns along Mexico's Pacific Coast on Sunday as it moved parallel to the shoreline, despite weakening to a category 3 storm.
"Additional weakening is forecast but Simon is still expected to be a strong hurricane as it passes near the coast of west-central Mexico tonight," the US National Hurricane Center's advisory said.
Simon is expected to move farther offshore on Monday before turning back towards Mexico's coast on Wednesday, it said.
On high alert
Mexican authorities have placed 28 municipalities across the states of Jalisco and Colima under the highest cyclone alert level. Another 93 municipalities were under high alert, according to civil protection bulletins.
The hurricane's center closed in on the Puerto Vallarta area, where its most damaging winds and rains were expected to hit around midnight and continue through Monday morning. Puerto Vallarta is a popular tourist destination in Jalisco. Apart from the resorts, several Mexicans live in communities inland and uphill, in houses that may not be able to weather the storm.
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Experts believe the entire area between Mexico's western coast and the Sierra Madre mountains could be affected.
"We're expecting catastrophic wind and life-threatening storm surge impacts along that west-central coast of Mexico where the hurricane warning is currently in effect," senior hurricane center specialist, Philippe Papin said.
"They're also getting very heavy rainfall associated with the storm that's likely going to produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides in areas of higher terrain along the Mexican coastline, and there will be significant swells."
In Manzanillo, residents waded through flooded streets on Sunday morning as soldiers helped rescue locals from the overnight rainfall.
"The beds, the refrigerators, the stoves, all the furniture got wet. The whole house flooded," Cecilia Palomar told Reuters outside her home.
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"My mother doesn't want to leave. We took her to my brother's, to higher ground. She's an elderly woman, but she doesn't want to leave. She doesn't want to be away from her home."
Airport closed, authorities urge caution
Puerto Vallarta International Airport was closed temporarily while authorities suspended non-essential activities.
They also established emergency shelters in threatened coastal communities.
Earlier on Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had urged residents of coastal communities in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to remain indoors ahead of the storm.
Hurricane Simon has come days after Hurricane Polo struck Mexico's Baja California Peninsula as a Category 2 storm, knocking down power lines and flooding the streets.
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