Mexico City, Sept. 28 (SANA) Hurricane Polo was expected to hit Mexico’s Baja California Sur on Monday, threatening flooding and mudslides, while Hurricane Nolo moved away from Hawaii but left the islands facing a risk of heavy rain, forecasters said.
Polo threatens Baja California Sur
Polo was a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday evening, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (about 200 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Rain was expected to reach the Baja California peninsula overnight. Forecasters expected Polo to weaken before landfall, then cross the peninsula and move toward mainland Mexico.
The hurricane center forecast 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain across Baja California, with up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) in parts of Baja California Sur. Rainfall could reach parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week.
In Mexico’s Jalisco state, floodwaters swept away a family home in La Cuesta, killing at least two children. Reports differed on their parents’ fate: Reuters cited the state Civil Protection and Fire Department as saying both were missing, while local outlet INFORMADOR.MX reported that a woman believed to be their mother had been found dead. Rescuers were also searching for a 24-year-old woman missing at sea in Puerto Vallarta.
Mexico deployed about 7,000 Navy and Defense Ministry personnel to Baja California Sur and opened 169 temporary shelters. The navy positioned aid at the ports of Guaymas and Mazatlán and assigned three vessels to assist coastal communities that could become isolated. Authorities restricted access to beaches in San José del Cabo.
In San Juanico, a fishing town on Baja California Sur’s Pacific coast, residents feared flooding could cut off the road to the nearest medical facility. Hotel manager Gloriely Robles Meza told the Associated Press that soldiers had arrived Sunday to prepare a shelter.
Nolo’s flood risk lingers in Hawaii
Nolo, meanwhile, was moving away from Hawaii’s Big Island, but its outer bands could still cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, forecasters said. Parts of the island could receive up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain. Wind and high-surf alerts remained in effect Sunday evening, when Nolo’s maximum sustained winds were about 105 mph (165 kph).
More than 120 National Guard members had been activated, among roughly 400 statewide, after Hawaii’s governor issued an emergency proclamation. U.S. President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration allowing federal authorities to coordinate assistance and provide funding.
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