Hurricane Agatha weakens after making landfall on the southern coast of Mexico

Typhoon Agatha sustained winds of 70 mph (about 113 km/h), with even stronger gusts at times, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Agatha made landfall in southern Mexico on the afternoon of May 30, west of Puerto Angel, a small coastal town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, with winds of up to 105 mph (169 km/h).

All of storm warning has been withdrawn, but a tropical depression warning remains in place for the area from Puerto Escondido to Salina Cruz.

Huge waves hit Tapachula, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on May 29, as Cyclone Agatha made landfall on the country’s southern coast. (Photo: Reuters)

Agatha, the first Pacific storm of winter, rapidly strengthened in the eastern Pacific and was set to reach hurricane status as it approached the southern coast of Mexico on the night of May 29.

The storm is expected to continue to weaken and dissipate into the afternoon of May 31, but “could cause flash flooding and life-threatening mudslides in southern Mexico through May 31,” according to the Hurricane Center. United States of America. It was the strongest hurricane to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast in May since 1949.

The heaviest rain is forecast to fall in the state of Oaxaca, where up to 16 inches (over 40 centimeters) of rain is forecast, with even isolated areas up to 20 inches (51 centimeters).

Satellite image of Hurricane Agatha off the Pacific coast of Mexico on May 29. (Image: US National Hurricane Center)

The remnants of Cyclone Agatha are expected to pour into the Caribbean and there is now a 50% chance that the storm will strengthen again in the next 5 days. Accordingly, the remnants of Cyclone Agatha may contribute to the gradual formation of a system tropical cyclone in “the southwestern Gulf of Mexico around midweek or in the Northwest Caribbean later this week,” according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Atlantic Forecasting Division.

“Regardless of course, localized heavy rain is likely across southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala and Belize throughout the week,” the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Oaxaca state government has created 200 shelters along the coast, providing temporary shelter for about 26,000 people. Ports in the region have been closed, while airlines have canceled flights to the international airport in Huatulco.

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