Hurricane Trudy battered parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast with heavy rainfall and powerful winds on Sunday, prompting warnings from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) about potentially deadly flooding and mudslides.
A hurricane warning was in force for the coastal stretch from Manzanillo in Colima state to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco.
According to the latest NHC update, the Category 2 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (165 kilometres per hour). Its centre was located about 135 miles (215 kilometres) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes and 115 miles (185 kilometres) west-southwest of Manzanillo, moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).
Trudy was expected to remain close to the Mexican coast through Sunday evening before moving south of the Baja California Peninsula. A tropical storm warning was still in effect for Las Islas Marias, while a previous warning for the coast between Punta San Telmo and Lazaro Cardenas had been lifted.
The Mexican navy urged mariners and coastal communities to remain highly cautious amid high waves, heavy rain and the threat of rising rivers, flooding and landslides in vulnerable areas.
Authorities in Colima said the overall risk remained low but warned that additional rainfall could cause damage as the ground was already saturated following successive storms along the Pacific coast.
Trudy was forecast to bring 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres) of rain through the weekend, with isolated totals reaching about 12 inches (30 centimetres) along and near the coasts of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. The NHC warned that steep and mountainous areas faced a particular risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides.
Super Typhoon Champi Moves Away from Guam
Meanwhile, Typhoon Champi was moving away from Guam on Sunday after passing near the island’s southern tip as a Category 4 super typhoon.
The storm had sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) and was located about 200 miles (320 kilometres) west of Guam late Sunday afternoon, moving west at 14 mph (23 kph), according to the US National Weather Service.
Champi could intensify into a Category 5 super typhoon early Monday local time.
Guam and Rota remained under typhoon warnings, while tropical storm warnings and a typhoon watch for Tinian and Saipan were cancelled.
The governors of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands requested emergency disaster declarations on Friday.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Guam, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate federal disaster relief operations.
FEMA said federal assistance was available to support the territory’s response to the typhoon and supplement local emergency efforts.
Airports, harbours and some healthcare facilities across the affected territories were closed. According to FEMA updates issued on Saturday, additional resources were unlikely to reach the islands for three to five days.
The territories are still recovering from the impacts of Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, which struck in April and July, respectively.