Five people are still missing in Baja California, where the worst of the flooding hit the coastal city of Ensenada.
The death toll from Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel has risen to six after heavy rain caused flooding and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast, authorities said on Tuesday. Simon is moving slowly off the coast as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing heavy rain to Nayarit and Sinaloa. The most serious damage was further north in Ensenada, in Baja California, where flooding linked to Rachel killed at least five people. Five others are missing.
Ensenada and Baja California
The state prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press that the victims in Ensenada included a 13-year-old girl, whose body was found on Sunday. A 4-year-old boy and two women, aged 30 and 35, were recovered on Monday. An unidentified person was found near a stream on Tuesday.
Five people remain missing. Three are in Ensenada. The other two are a father and son who went fishing in San Felipe, on the Gulf of California, on Saturday and did not return. About 300 military personnel, police officers and rescue workers searched along Ensenada’s El Pipila stream on Tuesday, while the Mexican Navy continued to look for the fishermen, state civil protection authorities said.
Floodwaters swept away vehicles, damaged homes and cut off some communities. Johana Nuriulu, who lives in Ensenada’s Buena Vista community, said the flooding began overnight, shortly after heavy rain knocked out the electricity. “We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but very intense,” she said. When she went outside, she found that a nearby stream had overflowed. “The water was sweeping everything away; it took a cabin … animals, everything.”
Near Ensenada, Mexican soldiers used helicopters to rescue 32 people, including 13 minors, from Rancho Genesis, a camp for orphans run by missionaries. The army said 22 of those rescued were foreign nationals. Baja California Security Secretary Gen. Laureano Carrillo said they included Americans and Germans.
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila said about 14,000 federal and state personnel had been deployed to help affected communities. President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered the activation of Plan DN-III-E, Mexico’s military disaster-relief programme.
Simon’s path
Over the weekend, Simon brought heavy rain to the southern state of Guerrero and killed one person. The research notes identify the victim as a 71-year-old man killed when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, according to Governor Evelyn Salgado. At least 201 homes were reported damaged, according to figures attributed to the state’s civil protection authorities. Parts of Acapulco reportedly received close to 500mm of rain.
According to Mexico’s National Meteorological Service, Simon reached Category 4 strength on 11 October. Its maximum sustained winds were about 250km/h, with gusts of up to 305km/h, and its centre was around 100km west-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima. It later weakened to Category 1.
Puerto Vallarta International Airport suspended operations as the storm approached, and businesses boarded up their premises. Operations were expected to resume on Tuesday morning, and some businesses had reopened by Monday.
In Sinaloa, where authorities remain on alert for rising rivers and flooding, 616 residents were evacuated and about 6,500 emergency personnel mobilised, according to the newspaper La Razón. Mazatlán was among the areas preparing for a possible impact later in the week. Forecasts were uncertain because Simon was moving unusually slowly and its projected track had changed.
Effects in the United States
Rachel also affected the United States. In Long Beach, California, powerful waves damaged oceanfront homes and destroyed sections of a historic wooden boardwalk. Thirteen homes were reportedly red-tagged as unsafe, and another was classed as uninhabitable. The city has spent more than $1m on its emergency response and is speeding up an $11.4m beach restoration project. Newport Beach temporarily closed piers and beaches.
Las Vegas recorded 1.08 inches (27.4mm) of rain, tying an October daily record dating back to 1947. Floodwater ran through streets near the Strip. In Blythe, California, 2.8 inches of rain was reportedly the city’s wettest storm since 1965.
