Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Rachel Kill Five on Mexico's Pacific Coast

At least five people have died after Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Rachel struck Mexico's Pacific coast. The Guardian

Hurricane Simon brought flooding that downed trees and electricity poles, blocked roads and inundated homes along the coast. In Chilpancingo, Guerrero, a 71-year-old man died when a wall collapsed. Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said the storm damaged infrastructure and homes in coastal towns including Acapulco. Flooding and landslides also hit communities near rivers and streams in Michoacan and Colima.

Tropical Storm Rachel hit farther north in Baja California. Four members of one family, including two children, were found dead on the outskirts of Ensenada. Five people remained missing in the state. Security forces used helicopters to rescue 32 people. More than 50 people were housed in temporary shelters.

Simon did not make landfall, meaning its center never crossed onto land. It weakened to Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the 1-to-5 ranking of hurricanes by wind speed, while moving away from the coast. The eye, the calmer center around which the storm spins like a wheel, stayed offshore. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned heavy rainfall from Simon could still produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides in west-central Mexico. Officials warned waves of up to five metres were still expected in some coastal areas. Mexico's Servicio Meteorológico Nacional forecast Simon would remain near the coasts of Nayarit and Sinaloa on Tuesday, with very heavy rainfall, strong winds and elevated waves.

The storm intensified rapidly over several days. On Oct. 9, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said Simon was Category 1 at that moment. Hurricane Simon Advisory Number 13 was issued at 9:00 AM CST on Saturday, Oct. 10, after inner-core structural changes during the previous 6 to 12 hours, shifts in the tight ring of wind and clouds around the eye. By Sunday, Oct. 11, Simon was pounding the Pacific coast as a Category 4 storm with its eye just offshore. Associated Press Forecasters warned isolated rainfall totals could reach 30 inches (762 mm). Reuters Marine warnings were in effect for the Eastern Pacific in connection with Rachel and Simon, and forecasters warned swells were likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, strong narrow currents pulling water out to sea, as well as minor to moderate coastal flooding, through early next week.

The broader context here is one of distributed risk rather than a single landfall point. A powerful offshore hurricane can deliver its worst effects through water, not wind, with rain falling inland, rivers rising in Michoacan and Colima, and surf battering beaches far from the center. Two systems operating at once, Simon in the south and center and Rachel in the north, divide rescue aviation, shelter capacity and official attention. The forecast track near Nayarit and Sinaloa and the continuing warnings for flooding, mudslides and five-metre waves will test evacuation routes, power restoration and shelter operations even as Simon pulls away.