Hurricane Simon intensified into a formidable Category 4 storm as it approached west-central Mexico, where it was expected to make landfall or track along the coast on Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Simon could strengthen or weaken before its core reaches shore, but its maximum sustained winds had reached 249km/h, according to the latest NHC advisory.
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“Significant or catastrophic wind, surge, and rainfall appears likely over portions of west-central Mexico,” the centre warned.
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion shortly in the hurricane warning area.”
Two people were killed in Florida and Alabama after falling trees struck homes, while forecasters warned that storm-related flooding could reach as far inland as the Appalachians.
Simon is the latest major storm in an unusually active Pacific hurricane season, with the powerful El Niño warming pattern reducing wind shear and creating conditions that allow storms to intensify.
Mexico’s Navy evacuated about 100 people from communities along the country’s western coastline as Simon advanced.
“Three years ago, we lost everything,” said Elena Gulmas, 63, recalling Hurricane Lidia in 2023. “Now I say, life comes first.”
In Puerto Vallarta, the Pacific resort city, skies had turned cloudy, although the sea remained relatively calm.
Jalisco’s state government, which oversees Puerto Vallarta, issued a red alert for several municipalities.
The city’s airport also suspended operations.
A house was swept away by heavy rains ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Simon in Acapulco
Tourist destinations prepare for storm
Simon’s torrential rains had already flooded Acapulco, another prominent tourist destination farther south.
Yet in Puerto Vallarta, built around a vast horseshoe-shaped bay that can blunt a hurricane’s force, many residents appeared surprisingly composed as the storm drew closer.
Shopkeepers stacked sandbags at entrances and covered doors and windows with boards, but the preparations did not yet carry the atmosphere of an approaching catastrophe.
“What people are most scared of is that the water will reach a tall height… like it did with Hurricane Kenna,” said Paulina Perez, who owns a furniture boutique along the boardwalk. She was referring to the 2002 storm, which killed at least four people.
Outside her shop, she posted a message that read: “Simon, be brief, be peaceful.”
On another board, someone had spray-painted, “Simon says: ‘Everything is going to be alright’”, turning the hurricane’s name into a reference to the popular children’s game.
Moises Villasenor, 72, said he felt “a little worried” as he packed sandbags around his small hotel, located roughly three blocks from the waterfront.
Still, he said, “We’re very positive.”
Visitors, too, seemed reluctant to let the storm derail their plans.
“We’re going to enjoy it as much as we can, even if it’s just for today,” said Edna Morales, 41, who had travelled from northern Mexico with her husband on Friday to mark their wedding anniversary.
Authorities said residents would be ordered to move into shelters from 5pm local time.
Just a week earlier, Hurricane Polo reached the Baja California Peninsula as a Category 2 storm, knocking down trees and utility poles, flooding roads and damaging property.
