Hurricane Simon is battering Mexico’s Pacific coast with destructive winds, dangerous waves and torrential rain, putting resort communities and vulnerable coastal towns at risk as authorities race to evacuate residents and protect tourists.
The Category 3 hurricane was tracking northwest offshore near the popular resort city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday, October 12, with forecasters warning of life-threatening flooding, storm surges and landslides.
Simon’s maximum sustained winds had weakened to around 115 mph (185 km/h), but the storm remained dangerous. Its slow movement along the coast has prolonged the threat to communities in the western Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Sinaloa.
The US National Hurricane Center warned that some areas could receive as much as 30 inches (76 centimetres) of rain from the storm, creating a potentially catastrophic situation in steep terrain where floodwater and mudslides can rapidly overwhelm communities.
Puerto Vallarta on alert as evacuations and closures intensify
Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico’s best-known Pacific tourism destinations, has faced dangerous weather as Simon’s eye remained offshore. Police and National Guard personnel patrolled coastal areas, urging people to leave exposed waterfronts and take shelter.
Authorities in Jalisco suspended classes on Friday and Monday across 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating people from vulnerable locations. Tourism operators were also instructed to ensure that hotel workers and visitors were accommodated in shelters or safer areas.
The storm’s reach extends beyond resort districts. Communities between the coastline and the Sierra Madre mountains face the combined danger of powerful winds, storm surge and intense rainfall. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 15 miles (24 kilometres) from Simon’s centre, while tropical-storm-force winds reached as far as 60 miles (97 kilometres).
Philippe Papin, a senior hurricane specialist, warned of catastrophic wind and life-threatening storm-surge impacts along the west-central coast, alongside rainfall that could trigger flooding and mudslides.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacán to remain sheltered until authorities confirmed that the danger had passed. She also called on residents to follow civil-protection instructions and avoid unnecessary travel on public roads.
Simon’s slow track raises flood danger as storm moves northwest
Forecasters said Simon was expected to continue moving northwest before potentially turning northeast and moving inland around midweek. Although gradual weakening was forecast, the hurricane was expected to remain dangerous until it moved inland, when interaction with mountainous terrain would accelerate its decline.
The National Hurricane Center forecast additional rainfall of 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimetres), with isolated areas receiving up to 8 inches (20 centimetres), across Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Sinaloa through early Thursday. Isolated storm totals of 30 inches were possible in parts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco.
The immediate concern is not just wind damage. Saturated ground, steep slopes and swollen waterways could magnify the impact of further rain, particularly in communities with vulnerable housing and limited access to safe evacuation routes.
The unfolding emergency also poses a challenge for Mexico’s tourism industry, with transport disruptions, coastal closures and shelter arrangements affecting workers and visitors during the storm.
Authorities have urged residents and tourists not to underestimate the danger simply because Simon has weakened from its earlier intensity. The storm’s slow pace and the prospect of extreme rainfall mean serious flooding risks could persist even as its winds gradually ease.