Hurricane Erick threatens 2m with catastrophic conditions

More than two million people are in the path of a powerful Category 3 hurricane that has made landfall in western Mexico.

Hurricane Erick hit over southwest Mexico, primarily the western part of Oaxaca and the eastern part of Guerrero, at around 7:50am ET, unleashing 125-mile-per-hour winds.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a warning from Acapulco to Puerto Angel, saying Erick will produce rainfall totals of 8 to 12 inches, with maximum totals of 16 inches.

‘This rainfall will lead to life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,’ NHC said in a Thursday morning alert.

‘A dangerous, life-threatening storm surge is expected to produce coastal flooding near and to the east of where the center crosses the coast, in areas of onshore winds,’ the alert continued. ‘Large and destructive waves will accompany the surge.’ 

Floods washed into Huatulco and Oaxaca, hours before Erick made landfall, with videos showing cars and homes filled with water.

The center of Erick is expected to move inland over southern Mexico throughout the day, according to the NHC.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message Wednesday night that all activities in the region were suspended, and she urged people to stay in their homes or to move to shelters if they lived in low-lying areas. 

The storm was downgraded slightly before making landfall, from a powerful Category 4 to a Category 3. 

While slightly reduced in power, Erick is still considered a major hurricane as a Category 3, which can carry winds of up to 129 miles per hour.

A storm surge of six to 10 feet is forecast along a portion of the southern Mexico coast near and just east of where the center makes landfall. 

Erick is expected to weaken over the mountains of Mexico, and the system is likely to dissipate late Thursday or early Friday. 

‘Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area during the next few hours, as it moves at nine miles per hour, with destructive winds near the core of Erick,’ the NHC alert stated.

Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara, in a post on X, urged residents to follow authorities’ recommendations and said shelters were available for those in areas at risk. 

Mexican authorities have also been coordinating evacuation efforts for tourists in beach destinations, including Acapulco.  

In Acapulco, a major port and resort city famous for its nightlife, police with bullhorns walked the beach and drove around town warning residents and holidaymakers of the storm’s arrival.

Some shops boarded up their windows, and operators of tourist boats brought their vessels ashore.

Rainfall began in the late afternoon after a sunny day on Wednesday.

Some 2,000 temporary shelters have been set up in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, and hundreds of troops and electricity workers have been deployed to help with any clean-up efforts.

Local authorities have suspended classes and closed ports along the coast, including the port of Acapulco, to shipping.

Mexico sees major storms every year, usually between May and November, on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

Tropical Storm Erick formed off Mexico’s coast early Tuesday and rapidly intensified into the second hurricane of the 2025 eastern Pacific season within just 24 hours, right on cue with forecasts.

Within just a few hours, Erick strengthened further, reaching Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. 

By noon local time, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour.