Hurricane nears Mexican coast

Hurricane Nolo swept away from the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday as major Hurricane Polo bore down on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, threatening storm surge, high winds and heavy rains.

Nolo was well southwest of Hawaii and moving away from the Big Island (Hawai’i) as the weekend drew to a close. A high-wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening as Nolo’s maximum sustained winds increased to near 165kph.

Meanwhile, residents of Mexico’s Baja California braced for the expected arrival yesterday of Category 3 Polo, which had sustained winds of 205kph as of Sunday evening, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Heavy rainfall from Polo would begin hitting the peninsula overnight and could produce flooding and mudslides.

A police vehicle moves along a road as Hurricane Polo approaches Baja California Sur, in Loreto, Mexico, on Sunday.

Photo: Reuters

Forecasters said Polo would hit the Mexican mainland after crossing Baja California and could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the US southwest this week. Polo was moving to the north at 19kph about 435km west of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula’s southern tip, the hurricane center said.

HAWAII AFTERMATH

Forecasters said Nolo’s outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island possibly getting up to 50cm of rain. Heavy rain was expected on the other islands.

More than 120 US National Guard members were activated, part of roughly 400 statewide after the governor issued an emergency proclamation. US President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance and provide funding support.

Hawaii residents are still recovering from Hurricane Lala, which brought heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.

In Naalehu, at the island’s southern point, Peggy McKibbin surveyed silt-covered roads from her four-wheeler Sunday and pointed out the lingering damage from Lala, which wiped out a local bakery, a fire station and a hardware store.

“Everyone has been very much affected by this,” McKibbin said.

BUSY PACIFIC

The Pacific has been unusually active, according to US National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Nino years, when the Pacific generally sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.

With Polo approaching Mexico, the Mexican navy said it had gathered personnel and humanitarian aid in the ports of Guaymas and Mazatlan on the Pacific Coast and deployed three vessels that could deliver aid to coastal communities cut off by the storm.

One of the towns in the hurricane’s projected path is San Juanico, a small fishing community on Baja’s Pacific coast. The town has only had full-time electricity for a few years, and still experiences frequent outages. There is concern that washed-out roads could block access to medical facilities.

“Our people are concerned about this event,” said Gloriely Robles Meza, a manager at a small hotel. “We haven’t faced such a worrying situation in many years.”

Robles Meza said Sunday that army soldiers arrived in San Juanico to prepare a shelter and provide support for possible emergencies.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Rachel formed well off Mexico’s southwest coast. The hurricane center said Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 65kph and was about 485kph south of Acapulco. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect yet.