L’Hurricane Grace, which became “a major hurricane” of category 3 overnight, made landfall Saturday morning on the east coast of Mexico with winds of up to 205 km / h, the US Hurricane Monitoring Center (NHC) said.
Read also: Hurricane Grace switches to category 3 and reaches Mexico, storm Henri threatens the United States
The hurricane hit the northern coast of Veracruz state, near the municipality of Tecolutla, at 6 a.m. GMT, and the area is on alert for flooding and landslides.
“Grace quickly became a major hurricane”, had declared in the night the NHC by passing it in category 3, shortly after having classified it first in category 2.
Category 3 hurricane
A Category 3 hurricane can damage coastal homes and buildings, knock down trees and signs and cause flooding in coastal areas, the Mexican Water Commission said on social media.
As it makes landfall, the hurricane is expected to start losing strength, especially when it hits mountain ranges. However, the state of Veracruz has many powerful rivers, which comes with a lot of flood risk.
300 boats sheltered
In the port of Veracruz, businesses have placed boards and protections on windows and doors, while fishermen have sheltered 300 boats.
“We will spend many days without fishing, almost a week, we are affected like 35,000 fishermen because we cannot go out”, said Isabel Pastrana Vázquez, president of the Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives of Veracruz.
Residents secured their homes after stocking up on preserves and water.
Closed roads
By late afternoon Friday, most of the roads in Veracruz were closed, and the Mexican armed forces are mobilized to help the population.
“I join the call that is launched to ask the inhabitants of the region of Veracruz, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Hidalgo to take refuge in the heights, with relatives or in shelters that are in the process of be installed ”, tweeted President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.
200 shelters set up and 2,000 more ready to be activated
The authorities have announced that they have set up 200 shelters and are ready to activate 2,000 more if necessary.
This will be the second time Grace has reached Mexico, after spending there Thursday without causing any death or major property damage. Then classified in category 1, it made landfall Thursday morning near the seaside resort of Tulum, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. The planes had been grounded and tourists had to spend the night in dedicated shelters.
Grace had been demoted to a tropical storm on dry land. But then it regained strength in the Gulf of Mexico, more than expected.
Neighboring El Salvador has announced an early warning due to the hurricane-related rains that could hit it.
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