Hurricane Trudy strengthens to Category 2 as it nears Mexico's Pacific coast
Hurricane Trudy intensified to Category 2 on Saturday as it approached Mexico's south-western Pacific coast, according to the US National Hurricane Center. Meanwhile, Typhoon Champi reached Category 4 as it closed in on Guam.
A hurricane in the eastern Pacific, Trudy, strengthened to a Category 2 storm on Saturday and is moving toward Mexico's south-western and west-central coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. A hurricane warning is in force from Manzanillo in Colima state to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco state.
The latest NHC data put Trudy's maximum sustained winds at 155km/h (100mph). The storm was about 330km south-south-east of Cabo Corrientes and 180km south-south-west of Manzanillo, travelling north-west at 17km/h. Its centre is expected to approach the coast on Saturday and pass near it into Sunday.
Following the latest warning, Mexico's government issued a tropical storm warning for Las Islas Marias and dropped a similar warning for the coast south of Lazaro Cardenas. The Mexican navy urged mariners and coastal residents to take extreme caution because of high waves, heavy rain and the risk of rising rivers, flooding and landslides. Colima authorities said the risk remained low but cautioned that heavy rain could cause damage, as the ground is already saturated after successive storms along the Pacific coast. Between 10cm and 20cm of rain is forecast through the weekend, with isolated totals near 38cm.
Typhoon Champi approaches Guam
In the western Pacific, Typhoon Champi strengthened to Category 4 and is heading west toward Guam at 24km/h. By Saturday night local time it was roughly 40km south-east of Guam, with maximum sustained winds of 225km/h, according to the US National Weather Service. It is forecast to pass south of Guam early on Sunday and keep intensifying through the day.
Guam and Rota are under a typhoon warning, while Tinian and Saipan are under a tropical storm warning and typhoon watch. The governors of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands both asked on Friday for emergency disaster declarations; approval by Donald Trump would unlock federal support and funding for emergency protective measures. Airports, harbours and some health facilities in the territories have closed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said resources were unlikely to reach the islands for three to five days. The territories are still recovering from Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, which hit in April and July respectively.
