Climate change

Major Hurricane Simon Impacts Mexico's Pacific Coast

Is shutting down Jalisco's coast the only responsible call, or is proven local readiness more nuanced?

4 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Major Hurricane Simon Impacts Mexico's Pacific Coast

Story

Above: A house was swept away by heavy rains in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, before Hurricane Simon's arrival. Image credit: Francisco Robles/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Hurricane Simon was pounding west-central Mexico as a Category 3 storm early Monday, with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph (185 kph) and its eye about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Cabo Corrientes, the area forecasters said was most likely to take a direct hit.
CBS News
New York Post
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Simon's winds measured 140 mph by midday Sunday as its core moved parallel to the coast. Forecasters shifted the projected track farther offshore and said it was unclear whether the storm would come ashore.
NBC
The Weather Network
Mexico's Navy closed nine ports on Sunday, including Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, while the Puerto Vallarta airport suspended operations until Monday morning. Officials reported 579 people evacuated or sheltered in Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit.
CNN
The Rio Times
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to remain sheltered until authorities announce the danger has passed, while civil protection officials placed 28 municipalities under the highest cyclone alert.
Al Jazeera
Fox 8 Cleveland WJW
Convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta boarded up their windows Saturday as Jalisco suspended classes Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating people from areas considered at risk.
Los Angeles Times
Breitbart
Simon strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Saturday with winds of 150 mph about 115 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, prompting a hurricane warning for the coast south of Puerto Vallarta and forecasts of 10 to 20 inches of rain.
CBC
Reuters
The Straits Times

Sources Split

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

A storm packing 140 mph winds parked right off a crowded tourist coast is nothing to shrug at, and treating it as anything less invites disaster. Shutting down airports, suspending classes and clearing the hillside neighborhoods above the resorts is the only responsible call when mudslides and surge can wipe out homes in minutes. This climate-fueled El Niño continues to wreak havoc.

The Washington Post

Al Jazeera

The Weather Network

Climate-skeptic narrative

The discourse around a supposedly "climate-fueled" El Niño is alarmist and not nuanced. Some areas would benefit from the enhanced rainfall, but the infrastructure hasn't been developed to capitalize on nature's good fortune. Ultimately, climate fear-mongering detracts from sound policymaking.

Steve Milloy on X

New York Post