Simon, Rachel kill at least 2 in Mexico, 10 missing

Hurricane Simon and storm Rachel have killed at least two people in Mexico and left at least 10 missing in Baja California, officials said Oct. 12, as Simon weakened to a Category 2 hurricane off Jalisco and headed for a landfall forecast later this week.

The storms have also helped push the 2026 eastern Pacific season to a record for accumulated cyclone energy, a measure of storm strength and duration, according to Al Jazeera, citing The Associated Press.

Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said at a briefing on Monday that a 71-year-old man died in Chilpancingo when a retaining wall collapsed in heavy rain, Al Jazeera reported. Mexican outlets give slightly different details. UnoTV reported that an older adult died around midday Friday, Oct. 9, when a stone wall fell on a house, and said state civil protection officials blamed soil softened by rain linked to Simon. Plano Informativo, citing El Heraldo, put the man’s age at 76 and said the wall and an earth embankment fell in the city’s Amelitos neighbourhood. The age discrepancy has not been resolved.

In Baja California, Gov. Marina del Pilar said a young girl died from the effects of Rachel, which peaked in early October as a Category 3 storm before making landfall as a post-tropical cyclone. Al Jazeera reported that eight people are missing in Ensenada and two in San Felipe. La Jornada reported a higher toll of two dead and 11 missing in the state. All figures are preliminary.

Heavy rain also hit Acapulco on Oct. 9. El Heraldo reported more than 230 millimetres fell in under four hours, flooding about 20 homes and 150 businesses, figures UnoTV also gave. El Heraldo reported that Salgado said 1,683 personnel and more than 300 vehicles were deployed and 34 temporary shelters opened.

Simon was a Category 4 storm with 240 km/h winds on Oct. 10 and 11, as Canada News Media reported and followed as it flooded Manzanillo. By late Monday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center put its maximum sustained winds at about 155 km/h, with the centre roughly 115 km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, moving west at 3 km/h, Al Jazeera reported. Forecasters expect landfall Thursday or Friday, with hurricane warnings in effect for western Mexico.

The Associated Press said 21 named storms have formed so far this season in the northeastern and central Pacific, and that Simon pushed accumulated cyclone energy past the previous record set in 2018 on Sunday. It said El Niño, which warms parts of the region’s waters, is a contributing factor. The same report said Hurricane Lowell knocked out power to about 90 per cent of Kauai’s customers in September, with at least two deaths linked to it. Those figures come from that single report and Canada News Media has not confirmed them independently.

For Canadians, the main risk is on the west-central coast, a winter destination for many travellers. The Government of Canada’s Mexico travel advisory, updated Oct. 12, says “Hurricane Simon is expected to sweep across the west-central coast of Mexico as a major hurricane,” and advises avoiding non-essential travel to the stretch of coast from Punta San Telmo to Bahia Tempehuaya. It lists landfall near Mazatlán on Oct. 15. Forecast tracks can shift, and the advisory page carries the latest guidance.

Travellers with bookings in Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Mazatlán and nearby resorts should check with their airline and tour operator. Air Canada and WestJet issued storm advisories for the region earlier this month. Canadians in the area can register with the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service.

Mexico’s National Meteorological Service and the National Hurricane Center are expected to issue further advisories as Simon approaches the coast. Officials have warned the death toll from both storms could rise.

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Via Al Jazeera (The Associated Press), UnoTV and Plano Informativo (El Heraldo).