First hurricane of 2022, Agatha heads for Mexico tourist towns

The civil defence office in Oaxaca said the hurricane’s outer bands were already hitting the coast

The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Sunday and rapidly gained power ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Agatha was expected to make landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane Monday afternoon or evening in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern State of Oaxaca — a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite.

The center warned that the hurricane could deliver a dangerous storm surge.

By late Sunday, the recently formed hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) — just 1 mph under the threshold for a Category 3, the hurricane centre said. Agatha was centred about 140 miles (225 kilometres) southwest of Puerto Angel and heading to the northeast at 6 mph (9 kph).

The center said Agatha could have winds of 120 mph (193 kph) when it makes landfall.

A hurricane warning was in effect between the port of Salina Cruz and the Lagunas de Chacahua.

The civil defence office in Oaxaca said the hurricane’s outer bands were already hitting the coast. The office published photos of fishermen hauling their boats up on beaches to protect them from the storm.