Mexico’s Navy closed Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas to navigation on Sunday as Category 4 Hurricane Simon moved along the Pacific coast. Officials reported that 579 people had evacuated or taken shelter in Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit. The closures interrupted activity at Manzanillo, Mexico’s busiest container port, and Lázaro Cárdenas, which has rail links north. Officials hadn’t reported any deaths by Sunday afternoon.
Ports and Supply Routes
The Navy, known as Semar, closed nine ports, among them San Blas, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas. It also closed 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.
The shutdowns affect routes used to move cargo through two of the country’s named port facilities. Manzanillo is Mexico’s busiest container port, while Lázaro Cárdenas has rail links north. Cargo importers were told to expect berthing delays at both ports until the Navy reopened them. Officials said the Navy would lift the closures only when conditions allowed the ports to reopen.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico closed Manzanillo International Airport to all flights until 2 p.m. Sunday. Officials hadn’t said whether the closure would continue after that time. Puerto Vallarta’s airport had already closed, and travellers were urged to check with airlines before heading to either airport.
Evacuations and Emergency Response
The federal Security Ministry said it had deployed 22,589 personnel across Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacán, along with 1,470 vehicles, 323 heavy machines and 18 aircraft. The Navy placed Colima in the relief phase of its Plan Marina emergency plan.
Jalisco had evacuated 321 people, while 256 remained in 54 temporary shelters. Colima reported 143 evacuees in six shelters. Nayarit had 115 people in 15 shelters, and Michoacán opened 39 shelters. The reported total of 579 comprised the 321 people evacuated in Jalisco, 143 in Colima and 115 sheltered in Nayarit.
A ferry carried 80 residents from Yelapa, a village south of Puerto Vallarta reached mainly by boat. Navy personnel took 55 people, including 25 children, to a shelter in La Huerta. Officials suspended non-essential activity in 24 priority municipalities. Jalisco sent 200 rescuers to the coast.
In Punta Pérula, rain had fallen since Saturday night, flooding many areas and paralysing roads. No victims had been reported there so far. Officials hadn’t provided figures for power outages or damage.
Storm Track and Warnings
At noon local time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center placed Simon’s eye 85 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo and about 65 miles south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes. The storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 140 mph, and it was moving at 7 mph. Its winds had eased slightly from the 145 mph reported in the morning.
The center said the “core of extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Simon” was moving parallel to the coast and expected to pass very near it Sunday afternoon and night, then remain close on Monday. A hurricane warning covered Punta San Telmo to El Roblito and the Islas Marías; hurricane conditions were likely already occurring in the southern part of the warning area.
The center 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 confidence in the track forecast was low as guidance shifted offshore. President Claudia Sheinbaum urged coastal residents to remain sheltered until officials said the danger had passed.