Hurricane Agatha puts 75 municipalities in southern Mexico on red alert

At least 75 municipalities in the southern Mexican state of oaxaca They are this Monday with a maximum danger alert due to the proximity of the hurricane agathawhich is headed for the coast of said entity and could affect Chiapas, also in the south, civil protection authorities reported.

“We have 75 municipalities in Oaxaca on red alert, that is, maximum danger, and 294 municipalities on orange alert, high danger, of which 286 are in Oaxaca and 8 in Chiapas”, Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Civil Protection, said at a press conference.

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The official said that until 12:00 local time (17:00 GMT) Ágatha is located 60 kilometers south of Puerto Escondido and 80 kilometers southwest of Puerto Ángel in oaxaca and presents sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour and gusts of 215 kilometers, with a shift to the southwest of 13 kilometers.

He informed that, according to the trajectory that has been presented, it is expected that the cyclone, which remains in category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, landfall between 16:00 and 19:00 local time (21:00 and 00:00 Tuesday GMT).

Because of this, he specified 46,000 people in Oaxaca have been alerted, of which 2,652 are touristsin addition to the fact that 215 temporary shelters with capacity for 27,735 people and 118 medical care facilities have been set up in the area of ​​possible impact.

General view of a beach in the resort of Salina Cruz, state of Oaxaca. before the arrival of Hurricane Agatha. (EFE/Luis Villalobos).

estimated that the hurricane will impact the community of Santa María Tonameca, and the areas where there will be greater affectations will be Mazunte and Puerto Angelalthough it will affect other localities such as Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, in oaxacaand the coasts of the states of Guerrero and Chiapas.

The official explained that since May 28 there was a notice of closure of beaches in the area and closure of all activity on May 29, in addition to the closure of ports to smaller vessels in Acapulco, Guerrero, Huatulco, Puerto Ángel and Puerto Escondido. in Oaxaca, and Puerto Chiapas in the state of the same name.

Likewise, School activities were suspended on the coast, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the northern and southern highlands, and the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, in addition to the closure of schools in the mountains and on the coast of Guerrero.

The path of Hurricane Agatha. (NHC).

He pointed out that authorities of the three levels of government are working to avoid the loss of human lives, for which they asked the population to be vigilant and follow the recommendations of Civil Protection, the Mexican Army and the Secretary of the Navy and, in case of being in danger, go to shelters.

Ágatha is the first cyclone of the 2022 season in the Pacific.

The National Weather Service reported a week ago that it expects the formation of up to 40 named tropical phenomena by 2022, which it described as an “active season”, and predicted that of the total, both in the Atlantic and in the Pacific, at least five will impact the country.

Source: Elcomercio