ACAPULCO, Mexico -- Hurricane Erick powered up into a Category 3 major hurricane Wednesday evening as it bore down on the southern Mexico coast, threatening to unleash destructive winds, flash floods and a dangerous storm surge on the region in coming hours, forecasters said.
Swiftly strengthening from a Category 1 hurricane hours earlier, Erick had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) by nightfall as it churned offshore about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south-southwest of Puerto Angel, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Erick was also about 160 miles (260 kilometers) southeast of Punta Maldonado and moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph) toward an expected landfall sometime Thursday morning, according to the center's latest advisory. A major hurricane is defined as Category 3 or higher and wind speeds of at least 111 mph (180 kph). Forecasters said further strengthening is expected and devastating wind damage is possible near where the eye crashes ashore.
The projected path would take its center near the resort of Acapulco, which was devastated in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and 32 were missing, after the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort’s hotels.
In Acapulco on Wednesday, there was a strong presence of National Guard and police in the streets, but most visible were trucks from the national power company. Crews worked to clear drainage canals and brush.
Some beaches were already closed, but tourists continued to sunbathe on others hours earlier as the storm gained strength well offshore.
On a beach in Acapulco, a line of people waited for the help of a backhoe to pull their boats out of the water.
Adrián Acevedo Durantes, 52, hauls tourists around Acapulco’s picturesque coastline in boats. Two of his boats sank in Hurricane Otis and a third was badly damaged.
“We’re taking precautions because with Otis we never expected one of that magnitude to come and now with climate change the water is warmer and the hurricanes are more powerful,” Acevedo said.
This time the port administration ordered that no one ride out the storm aboard their boats. During Otis many lost their lives by staying on boats in the harbor, which had traditionally been how they ensured their safety during previous storms. He said knew some of those lost at sea.
He acknowledged that it was sunny and the water calm Wednesday afternoon, making it hard to imagine a major storm was on the way, but said “with Otis it was calm all day, sunny, then at midnight there were two hours of strong winds and we saw what had happened the next day.”
Francisco Casarubio, a 46-year-old choreographer, carried a carton of eggs as he did some last-minute shopping ahead of the storm. He planned to pick up rice, beans and some canned food as well.
His home flooded and lost power in Otis and said he was taking Erick more seriously, but hadn’t had time to shop until Wednesday.
Forecasters said Erick was expected to lash Mexico’s Pacific coast with heavy rain, strong winds and a fierce storm surge. Rains of up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) could fall across the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states, the center’s advisory said. The rainfall threatened flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.
A hurricane warning was in effect from Acapulco to Puerto Ángel. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the area, and preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, according to the hurricane center advisory.
Down the coast in Puerto Escondido near the southern edge of Erick’s possible path, some fishermen began pulling their boats out of the water under a drizzling sky Wednesday.
Even though the wind had yet to pick up at the Zicatela beach, red flags were up to warn people to stay out of the water. But some surfers ignored them as they continued to ride waves.
Laura Velázquez, Mexico’s national civil defense coordinator, said Erick was forecast to bring “torrential” rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico. The mountainous region along the coast is especially prone to mudslides with numerous rivers at risk of flooding.
Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said all schools were closed Wednesday and the state had alerted all of the fishing and tourism operators to make their boats storm-ready. Acapulco’s port closed Tuesday evening. Salgado said 582 shelters were set to receive people who might evacuate their homes.
President Claudia Sheinbaum warned in her daily briefing that those in the hurricane’s path should heed government instructions and wait out the storm in their homes or designated shelters.
Having doubled in strength in less than a day, Erick was churning through an ideal environment for quick intensification. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the hurricane center.