Hurricane Erik Slams Into the Mexican Coast
Hurricane Erik, June 19, 2025. x/ @adnqro
June 19, 2025 Hour: 12:55 pm
The 2025 hurricane season could bring up to 37 named storms, five of which may directly impact Mexican territory.
In the early hours of Thursday, Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) informed that Hurricane Erick had intensified into a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour (143 mph) and gusts reaching up to 275 kph (171 mph).
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As of midnight, Erick was located 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and 145 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Punta Maldonado, Guerrero. The storm was expected to make landfall between Lagunas de Chacahua (Oaxaca) and Punta Maldonado (Guerrero) on Thursday morning.
The cyclone’s cloud bands are already causing extraordinary rainfall — more than 250 millimeters (9.8 inches) — in Oaxaca and torrential rains in Guerrero and Chiapas. These rains could trigger landslides, rising rivers, flooding and waterlogging.
Mexican authorities have also reported high surf and storm surge along affected coastal areas. The SMN added that a hurricane warning remains in effect from Acapulco, Guerrero, to Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, while tropical storm watches are active from Salina Cruz to Tecpan de Galeana.
In response, the Mexican government activated the armed forces’ DN-III-E and Navy emergency response plans. The National Water Commission (Conagua) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) are coordinating preventative actions to protect essential services.
“We will get through this together,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a message to residents of the affected areas. She also urged people to remain calm, shelter at home or head to shelters if living in low-lying or river-adjacent areas, and to stay informed through official channels.
Since Tuesday, Mexican authorities at all three levels of government have intensified preventative alerts — in contrast to the responses during Hurricane Otis in 2023 and Hurricane John in 2024, which left 29 people dead in southern Mexico.
Experts warn of the risk of landslides, river flooding and flash floods. The 2025 hurricane season could bring up to 37 named storms, five of which may directly impact Mexican territory.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
