The Foreign Office has warned Brits against travel to parts of Mexico as the country's Pacific coast braces for torrential rain, flooding and mudslides caused by Hurricane Polo, a powerful Category 5 storm.
Hurricane Polo is currently about 175 miles west-southwest of Zihuatanejo and 160 miles south of Manzanillo, both resort cities on Mexico's Pacific coast, according to an advisory published by the US National Hurricane Center at 1pm BST today. Polo currently has maximum sustained winds speeds of 160mph and is expected to maintain Category 5 strength – the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale – as it skirts Mexico's coast.
Warnings and watches in place
While the hurricane's core is expected to remain offshore, a tropical storm warning is in place from Tecpan de Galeana to Manzanillo, in Mexico. A tropical storm watch has also been issued from west of Manzanillo to Playa Perula.
Polo is expected to unleash a total of four to six inches of rain on coastal parts, with isolated totals of up to eight inches in Guerrero. The state, which is home to the popular resort city of Acapulco, is particularly at risk of "life-threatening flooding and mudslides", the hurricane centre warned.
Coastal impact and evacuations
Rain and strong winds have already started to hit the coast in the warning area, with waves crashing onto the normally pristine beaches. The hurricane centre said swells are expected to affect parts of south-west Mexico, spreading northwards along the west-central coast and towards Baja California Sur from Friday into the weekend. The swells generated by Polo could bring "life-threatening surf, rip currents and coastal flooding" along parts of the coast.
Rainfall of two to four inches is also possible in coastal parts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, it warned. Mexico's government has called for evacuations in some affected areas and has set up shelters for those affected. Thousands of military and Red Cross personnel have been deployed to the region as a preventive measure.
FCDO advice for affected states
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all but essential travel to the state of Guerrero, except for the town of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa when accessed by air. It also advises against all but essential travel to the city of Tijuana in Baja California, except for airside transit through Tijuana airport, the Cross Border Xpress bridge, and the federal toll road 1D and Via Rápida through Tijuana to the border. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the city of Tecate in Baja California, including on the roads between Tijuana and Tecate. The state of Baja California Sur is unaffected by these warnings.
In Chihuahua, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel except for the city of Chihuahua, the border crossing in Ciudad Juárez (accessed by federal toll road 45), federal toll road 45D connecting Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Chihuahua and towns immediately on this route, including Creel, the road from Creel via San Juanito to San Pedro, and state highway 16 from San Pedro to Chihuahua.
In Sinaloa, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel except for the cities of Los Mochis and Mazatlán, road 32 between El Fuerte and Los Mochis, the 15D federal toll road that runs the length of the state, and the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Los Mochis, El Fuerte and towns immediately on this route. In Tamaulipas, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel except for the border crossing at Nuevo Laredo (accessed by federal toll road 85D from Monterrey), federal highways 80, 81 and 85 between Tampico, Ciudad de Victoria and Magueyes, and the entire area of Tamaulipas south of these highways.
The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the state of Zacatecas, and to the areas south-west of road 45D in Guanajuato. In Michoacán, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel except for the city of Morelia (accessed by federal toll roads 15D, 126 and 43, and the federal toll road 48D between Morelia and the General Francisco Mujica airport), the town of Pátzcuaro (accessed by federal toll roads 14D and 15 from Morelia, and boat trips out to islands on Lake Pátzcuaro), and federal highway 15D.
In Jalisco, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the areas south and south-west of Lake Chapala to the border with Colima, and to the northern municipalities of Bolaños, Chimaltitán, Colotlán, Hostotipaquillo, Huejúcar, Huequilla el Alto, Mezquitic, San Martin de Bolaños, Santa Maria de los Ángeles, Totatiche and Villa Guerrero. In Colima, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel except for the city of Manzanillo, accessed by sea or air via the Manzanillo-Costalegre International Airport, and direct travel via road 200 from the airport to Manzanillo. In Chiapas, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to within 40km of the Guatemalan border between the Pacific coast up to and including the border crossing at Gracias a Dio, and on Federal Highway 199 between Rancho Nuevo and the Chancalá junction just outside Palenque.
