Hurricane Simon has rapidly intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm, sending residents and tourists in Puerto Vallarta scrambling to prepare as the system barrels toward Mexico’s Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued urgent warnings Saturday, forecasting that Simon would make landfall near or just inland of Mexico’s west-central coast by Sunday. Forecasters classified the storm as a major hurricane and warned that conditions would deteriorate rapidly throughout Saturday.
Streets in Puerto Vallarta were nearly empty Saturday morning as businesses boarded up windows and residents sought shelter. Hotels, convenience stores and other establishments worked quickly to secure their properties under gray, overcast skies.
Jalisco state officials suspended classes in 22 coastal municipalities and launched evacuations of residents living in high-risk zones. Authorities also directed the tourism industry in Puerto Vallarta to ensure that both hotel workers and guests were safely sheltered or relocated to designated safe zones by Friday afternoon.
The hurricane center warned of an extremely dangerous storm surge along the coastline near the point of landfall, with large and destructive waves expected to compound the threat. Rainfall totals of 10 to 20 inches are projected across parts of southwestern Mexico, with isolated areas in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco potentially receiving up to 30 inches.
Officials stressed that the extreme rainfall would trigger life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly in mountainous and steep terrain areas. Residents were urged to take immediate protective action before tropical storm conditions arrived Saturday afternoon.
Not everyone had left the coastal resort city. Canadian visitor Ed Currie said he and his wife still had five days remaining on their vacation and were planning to ride out the storm from their hotel room. “I just don’t know what to expect” Currie said when asked about the approaching storm.
Simon’s landfall is expected to bring one of the more significant hurricane strikes to Mexico’s Pacific coast in recent memory, with emergency managers urging anyone in low-lying or coastal zones to move to higher ground immediately.