Mexico’s Navy closed nine ports on Sunday as Category 4 Hurricane Simon moved north-northwest along the Pacific coast. Across Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit, 579 people were evacuated or sheltered. The storm remained offshore, but state authorities and port operators decided who could sail, fly or continue non-essential activity.
Closures from the top
The Navy (Semar) shut navigation at San Blas, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas, along with five ports on the Baja California peninsula from Ensenada to Guerrero Negro. Six more harbours, including Barra de Navidad, Nuevo Vallarta and Zihuatanejo, closed to small vessels. They’ll reopen only when the Navy lifts its closures.
The order reached beyond the waterfront. Manzanillo is Mexico’s busiest container port, and Lázaro Cárdenas has rail links north. Cargo importers were told to expect berthing delays at both ports until the Navy allows them to reopen. Puerto Vallarta sits within the hurricane warning area.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico closed Manzanillo International Airport to all flights until 2 p.m. Sunday. Puerto Vallarta’s airport had already closed. Officials hadn’t said whether the Manzanillo closure would be extended, and they hadn’t provided figures for power outages or damage.
Residents faced immediate risks on the ground. In Jalisco, 321 people were evacuated and 256 stayed in 54 temporary shelters. Colima reported 143 evacuees in six shelters, while Nayarit had 115 people in 15 shelters. Michoacán opened 39 shelters. The reported total of 579 combines those evacuated in Jalisco and Colima with those sheltered in Nayarit.
The storm, and the response
A ferry took 80 residents from Yelapa, a village south of Puerto Vallarta reached mainly by boat. Navy personnel transported 55 people, including 25 children, to a shelter in La Huerta. Non-essential activity stopped in 24 priority municipalities, and Jalisco sent 200 rescuers to the coast. The reported response covers official evacuations and transport; it gives no account of a grassroots or self-organized effort.
The federal Security Ministry (SSPC) said it had deployed 22,589 personnel across Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacán, with 1,470 vehicles, 323 heavy machines and 18 aircraft. The Navy placed Colima under the relief phase of its Plan Marina emergency plan. President Claudia Sheinbaum urged coastal residents to remain sheltered until officials said the danger had passed.
Warnings, with uncertainty
At noon local time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) placed Simon’s eye 85 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo and about 65 miles south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes. The storm had maximum sustained winds near 140 mph and was moving at 7 mph. The NHC said the “core of extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Simon” was moving parallel to the coast, expected to pass very near it Sunday afternoon and night, and remain close on Monday.
The hurricane warning covered Punta San Telmo to El Roblito and the Islas Marías. The NHC forecast 8 to 16 inches of additional rain, with isolated totals of 30 inches possible in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. It warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially on steep terrain, and said the track forecast had low confidence as guidance shifted offshore.
In Punta Pérula, rain had fallen since Saturday night, leaving many areas flooded and roads paralysed. No victims had been reported there, and officials had reported no deaths as of Sunday afternoon. U.S. citizens in the four states were advised to follow local civil-protection orders and stay indoors. The next full NHC advisory was due at 3 p.m. local time.