Hurricane Polo batters Baja California Sur, floods coast but spares lives

Hurricane Polo slammed into Baja California Sur and later made a second landfall in Sonora. The storm system widened flood risks from Mexico to the US Southwest even as Baja escaped major loss of life.

In Short

• Around 700 evacuees in Baja shelters were expected to return home
• Maximum winds reached 110 mph before the storm weakened inland
• Officials suspended schools, sports and non-essential work across several Sonora municipalities

Hurricane Polo battered Mexico's Baja California Sur state on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain as it came ashore and flooded coastal areas. Streets were strewn with fallen trees, but authorities said no deaths or serious damage were immediately reported and around 700 people who had taken shelter were expected to return home.

As Polo moved on and made a second landfall in Sonora after crossing the Gulf of California, forecasters warned of life-threatening winds and flash floods on the Mexican mainland. At the same time, bands of rain linked to the wider tropical weather system swept across the US Southwest, triggering flood warnings, while Hurricane Nolo remained a dangerous Category 3 storm in the central Pacific and Tropical Storm Rachel tracked parallel to Mexico's coast.

The Category 2 hurricane made landfall just south of Las Barrancas, about 80 miles north of Cabo San Lazaro, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. After passing over the fishing town of Puerto San Carlos on the Baja California peninsula, residents walked through ankle-deep water around downed trees and flooded homes.

For many in the town, the fact that the community was still largely intact brought relief. Shopkeeper Elbia Mara Bachomo, 40, sorted through furniture scattered across her home after she and her three children rushed to a shelter on Monday as water began entering the house. Her husband had been out at sea fishing for sardines when Polo struck, and Bachomo said he was fortunate to survive. "I thought, Oh no, what are we going to come back to? We will be left with nothing. But we were lucky," she said.

Polo was expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to parts of Baja California Sur. By late Tuesday morning, the weakened storm had made a second landfall and was moving inland in Sonora. Officials in Sonora suspended all non-essential activities, including school, sports and non-essential work in the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities.

Meanwhile, the hurricane centre said Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico's coast early on Tuesday. The storm was about 265 miles southwest of Lazaro Cardenas, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph.

Across the US Southwest, rain bands continued to lash the region on Tuesday, sending desert rivers higher and turning usually dry channels into fast-moving floodwater. Nearly the entire region was under flood watch as the system linked to Polo spread north-east from Mexico. Forecasters said north-central New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, could receive 3 to 4 inches of rain by Wednesday, with possibly more. "Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding," National Weather Service meteorologist Carter Greulich said in Albuquerque. "Don't drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas."

The system moved quickly through Phoenix early on Tuesday, dropping up to 2 inches of rain before easing. North of the city, a truck was swept away in a wash in the New River area, though the driver got out safely, Maricopa County sheriff's officials said. Near Zion National Park in Utah, the East Fork of the Virgin River roared with muddy floodwater that was seen carrying a shipping container downstream. In Orderville, Utah, where flooding began on Monday night, Sabrina Dubay said her partner warned her not to return home. "The river came in and swept around the entirety of our house," she said, adding that her partner told her, "We're about to lose everything." A camper, a snowmobile trailer and other items from her yard were washed away, and neighbours and friends dug a trench around the house as water rose. "It was coming in through our front doors," she said.

Flooding was also reported in southern New Mexico, where an unusually wet September had already saturated the ground. "Runoff is likely going to start much quicker and lead to those flooding impacts quicker," Greulich said. Forecasters said the flood risk would move into parts of the central US from late Tuesday into Wednesday, with widespread heavy rain expected from late Wednesday in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas. Low-lying areas were seen as especially vulnerable, and parts of west Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watch through Thursday, with some places expecting up to 5 inches of rain.

In the central Pacific, Hurricane Nolo remained a dangerous Category 3 storm on Tuesday as it moved away from Hawaii after drenching parts of the Big Island over the weekend. The storm was about 270 miles south-south-east of French Frigate Shoals, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, and was moving north at 9 mph. The hurricane was approaching the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, according to the hurricane centre. Pacific storm activity has been above average during the peak of hurricane season, a pattern that is consistent with El Nio years. Taken together, the storms brought flooding, disruption and warnings across a wide swathe of Mexico, the US Southwest and the Pacific.

With PTI Inputs

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