By Alberto Fajardo and Daniel Becerril
MANZANILLO, Mexico, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Hurricane Simon crept northwest just off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Monday, lashing western states with dangerous winds, heavy rain and flooding that put riverside communities on alert for possible evacuations.
The US National Hurricane Center said Simon was about 55 miles (90 km) west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco state at 8 a.m. (1400 GMT), packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), making it a Category 2 hurricane.
Simon has weakened since Saturday when it was a Category 4 system.
“Simon is slowly losing wind intensity and could ultimately stall this week and never make a true landfall as an organized storm,” said Alex DaSilva, a hurricane expert at private forecaster AccuWeather.
Simon is forecast to make landfall on Thursday in Mexico’s Sinaloa state.
“The slower Simon moves, the more rain potential the storm carries, but right now most of that rain is offshore and to the south of the storm’s center ultimately sparing the feet of rain we thought this storm could initially bring,” said DaSilva.
Simon was moving northwest at just 3 mph (6 kph) and was expected to continue along that track before turning northeast and moving inland across west-central Mexico around midweek.
Authorities said that Simon could bring life-threatening flooding and mudslides to parts of the Pacific coast and nearby mountains.
The hurricane is forecast to dump an additional 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain across coastal areas of southwest and west-central Mexico, with isolated amounts of 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) in parts of Jalisco and Sinaloa. The National Hurricane Center said isolated storm totals could reach 30 inches (76 cm) in parts of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
The head of Mexico’s civil protection agency, Laura Velazquez, said one person was reported to have died due to the storm in Guerrero state, home to the popular tourist destination of Acapulco.
In the coastal town of Cihuatlan in southwestern Jalisco, patrols warned residents to prepare for potential evacuation as the Marabasco River rose. Floodwater inundated streets and low-lying areas of the town overnight.
In the port city of Manzanillo in Colima state, residents waded through flooded homes and streets as navy personnel helped remove water.
“Everything got flooded,” said resident Maria Elena Vazquez from inside her home, pants rolled up as the water came up to her ankles.
The National Hurricane Center said Simon was expected to produce dangerous storm surge and large destructive waves close to where it approaches the coast. Swells from the hurricane are also forecast to create life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along southwestern and west-central Mexico over the next few days.
Following weeks of storms that have battered Mexico, at least 10 people are missing in the state of Baja California and one minor was killed in the coastal city of Ensenada.
(Reporting by Alberto Fajardo and Daniel Becerril in Manzanillo, Mexico; Writing by Kylie Madry and Paolo Laudani in Mexico City; Editing by Will Dunham and Cynthia Osterman)
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