Hurricane Trudy hits category 3 off Mexico’s coast after earlier storms kill six

Hurricane Trudy hits category 3 off Mexico’s coast after earlier storms kill six Hurricane Trudy is expected to intensify in the coming days - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Hurricane Trudy intensified into a major storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast early on Friday, reaching Category 3 status. The weather system is generating maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) while travelling northwest at 6 mph (9 kmph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was situated around 260 miles (420 kilometers) south-west of Acapulco and 365 miles (590 kilometers) south-south-east of Manzanillo. Trudy is expected to strengthen over the next few days, with its eye forecast to approach the coast of south-western and west-central Mexico on Saturday. To the north-west, hurricane Simon recorded winds of 45 mph (75 kmph) and is predicted to weaken to a remnant low shortly. At least six dead after Simon and Rachel hit coast Earlier in the week, at least six people died along Mexico’s Pacific coast after heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides brought by Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, authorities confirmed. Simon was recorded as a Category 1 storm before gathering strength on Tuesday evening to near major hurricane status, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The system pushed torrential downpours into the western states of Nayarit and Sinaloa, where officials kept emergency services on high alert for overflowing rivers. Over the weekend, the storm also battered the southern state of Guerrero, causing one death. However, the most severe devastation occurred further north in the coastal municipality of Ensenada, Baja California, where five people died in floodwaters linked to Rachel’s remnants. The state prosecutor’s office told AP that the dead included a 13-year-old girl whose body was found on Sunday, two women aged 30 and 35, a four-year-old boy recovered on Monday, and a person located near a stream on Tuesday, who so far remained unidentified. A search for five missing people in Baja California on Wednesday was ongoing. That included three people in Ensenada and a father and son who failed to return after leaving San Felipe on Saturday for a fishing trip on the Gulf of California. About 300 emergency workers, police officers and military personnel searched the banks of Ensenada’s El Pipila stream on Tuesday, while the Mexican Navy carried out operations to locate the missing fishermen, civil protection officials said. Extensive flooding destroyed property, swept away vehicles and cut off access to isolated communities. Johana Nuriulu, a resident of the Buena Vista area in Ensenada, said the floodwaters rose rapidly during the night following a power outage. "We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but very intense," she said, recalling how a nearby stream burst its banks. "The water was sweeping everything away; it took a cabin ... animals, everything." In a separate rescue near Ensenada, Mexican army helicopters airlifted 32 people, including 13 minors, from Rancho Genesis, a missionary-run camp for orphans. Army officials later confirmed 22 of those saved were foreign nationals, with Baja California Security Secretary General Laureano Carrillo confirming they included citizens from Germany and the United States. Elsewhere in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Champi was positioned east of Guam on Friday, moving west-north-west at 12 mph (19 kmph) with sustained winds reaching 52 mph (86 kmph). Typhoon warnings are in place for Guam and Rota, with tropical storm warnings covering Tinian and Saipan. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments