MEXICO CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Mexico issued storm warnings
on its Pacific coast on Saturday evening as a new tropical
depression formed around 200 miles (322 km) south of Acapulco, a
city still recovering from devastating floods that hit the
country last month.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said tropical
depression 17-E was expected to strengthen to a tropical storm
by Sunday and could be blowing hurricane-force winds late
Monday, threatening the coastline with heavy rainfall.
Mexico suffered its worst flooding on record when tropical
storms Manuel and Ingrid converged from the Pacific and the Gulf
of Mexico in mid-September, killing more than 150 people and
causing estimated damages of around $6 billion.
Acapulco was one of the places worst hit by the chaos, as
torrential rains put the beach resort’s airport under water and
stranded thousands of tourists.
The NHC said Mexican authorities had issued a tropical storm
watch along the Pacific coast from Acapulco to the port of
Lazaro Cardenas further northwest.
Late on Saturday evening, depression 17-E was churning about
205 miles (330 km) south of Acapulco and moving northwestwards
at about 8 mph (13 kph). The depression was generating maximum
sustained winds of 35 mph (56 kph), the NHC added.
The weather front was expected to move slowly towards the
coast near Acapulco over the next few days, NHC forecasts
showed. Mexico has no major oil installations in its path.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Eric Walsh)
