Mexico's Sheinbaum sends urgent message to coastal residents as Hurricane Simon nears

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued a major warning to residents along the country’s Pacific coast to remain indoors as powerful Category 4 Hurricane Simon neared Mexico’s west-central coast, causing catastrophic weather conditions, dangerous storm surges and life-threatening flooding.

The US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory that Simon was located about 65 miles west-northwest of the port city of Manzanillo in Colima state with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph.

Sheinbaum said in a post on X, “With the approaching impact of Category 4 Hurricane Simon, we urge residents ​of coastal municipalities in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to remain sheltered until authorities officially ​declare that the danger has passed.”

She said evacuation measures to safer areas persisted prompting authorities to advise citizens to remain indoors and adhere to emergency management guidelines. The NHC said Simon was approaching Mexico's west-central coast later on Sunday and would remain close to the coast through Monday, though uncertainty over whether the centre would move inland.

In this connection, Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under its highest cyclone warning while another 93 municipalities were under a high alert level.

Given the situation, Puerto Vallarta’s international airport has temporarily closed, while authorities have halted nonessential activities. Simon strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on Saturday, triggering a full-scale emergency response and deploying civil protection teams to marginalized coastal populations.