This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Hurricane Polo swirled menacingly along Mexico's southern coast Thursday, triggering towering waves in a Pacific port city. Residents of Lazaro Cardenas hurriedly stacked sandbags along the shoreline to protect seaside homes and businesses threatened by the hurricane, which was not expected to make landfall.
Strong swells and pounding rain overpowered their defenses Wednesday, however, and cracks appeared in some building facades. "Our buildings have been falling apart," seaside hotel owner Concepcion Lopez told AFP. Hurricane Polo reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale Wednesday and was still active about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the coast of Guerrero state.
Authorities said it was heading north toward Michoacan state, where Lazaro Cardenas is located. Mexico deployed 1,700 troops to Michoacan, and armed soldiers guarded the beach at Lazaro Cardenas. At another coastal hotel, the crashing waves destroyed one of two swimming pools.
More flooding "is wrecking the other one; it's also reaching my kitchen," said owner Gudelia Ochoa. "We're holding on to hope that it won't hurt us too much." Torrential rain, winds of between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour (43 to 56 miles per hour), and waves of at least 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) were forecast along parts of Mexico's Pacific coast. "The population located in alert zones and in areas at risk of flooding, landslides, or rising rivers is urged to take extreme precautions," a civil protection news release stated.
Mexico is hit by hurricanes every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November. The El Niño weather pattern has intensified this year's storm season. The cyclical climate phenomenon raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall, as well as erratic weather conditions.
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