Hurricane Polo claims two lives in Mexico and three missing in Jalisco

The Pacific hurricane “Polo” killed at least two people in Mexico before it reached the coast. Three more people are missing after heavy rain and landslides in the western state of Jalisco, local civil defense said. “Polo” is expected to hit the Baja California peninsula in northwestern Mexico as a strong hurricane on Monday evening (local time).

According to the US Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm headed for the coast of the state of Baja California Sur on Sunday evening (local time). At that time it was a Category 3 hurricane out of a maximum of 5 with sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour. The storm was located around 460 kilometers southwest of the popular tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas.

According to weather forecasts, "Polo" is likely to make landfall near the municipality of Mulegé and trigger heavy rainfall, flash floods and flooding. The population was asked to stay indoors as much as possible and to follow civil defense instructions carefully. The cyclone is forecast to cross the peninsula from west to east.

Floods in Hawaii and another storm off Mexico

Meanwhile, the passing hurricane “Nolo” caused partial flooding in Hawaii over the weekend, while another tropical storm formed off the southern Mexican Pacific coast on Sunday. According to the NHC, “Rachel” is expected to reach hurricane strength on Wednesday and move over the sea along the coast.

The particularly strong climate phenomenon El Niño is causing an unusual hurricane season this year. While nine hurricanes have already formed in the Pacific - three of them in the highest category 5 - not a single hurricane has developed in the Atlantic. Hurricane season ends November 1st.