PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) – The Mexican Government has mobilized nearly 19,000 members of the Armed Forces in preparation for the anticipated landfall of Category 4 Hurricane Hilary, which is expected to make landfall over the Baja California peninsula this weekend before moving into California, United States.
“There are 18,738 elements already in a preventive attitude, community kitchens, (machinery) equipment, everything,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced in a press briefing earlier today.
According to data shared by the President, the deployment includes 6,585 agents in Baja California Sur, 7,349 in Colima, and 4,804 in Michoacán.
As of the last advisory from the National Meteorological Service (SMN), Hurricane Hilary was located 640 kilometers south of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. The cyclone, which developed on Wednesday from a tropical storm, has intensified, reaching sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour and gusts of 280 kilometers per hour.
Hurricane Hilary poses a significant threat as it has the potential to become the most damaging storm of the current Pacific hurricane season. The SMN has projected that Hilary will make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Baja California on Sunday and is expected to enter the United States as a tropical storm by Monday.
“We are waiting for the Pacific hurricane, (the authorities) are already in preventive activity, the Army with the DN-III plan (for emergency care). Today they already presented to us everything they are doing in mobilizing men, equipment,” President López Obrador stated.
The advance of the hurricane has prompted the SMN to activate a prevention zone in coordination with the United States’ National Hurricane Center. The zone extends from Punta Abreojos, Baja California Sur, to San José de Las Palomas, Baja California.
The 2023 Pacific hurricane season has already seen the formation of seven named cyclones: “Adrian”, “Beatriz”, “Calvin”, “Dora”, “Eugene”, “Fernanda”, and “Greg”, none of which have caused significant damage in Mexico. However, the Government of Mexico had forecasted the formation of up to 38 named cyclones in the 2023 season, five of which were predicted to impact the country. The prediction includes between 16 and 22 systems in the Pacific Ocean and between 10 and 16 in the Atlantic.
As Hurricane Hilary approaches, the Mexican government is taking necessary precautions to protect the public and minimize potential damage. The efforts of the Armed Forces will be key to providing aid and support to affected regions.
PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - The Mexican Government has mobilized nearly 19,000 members of the Armed Forces in preparation for the anticipated landfall of Category . . .
