Hurricane Polo is battering Mexico’s south-western coast while Hurricane Nolo strengthens towards Hawaii, placing communities on opposite sides of the Pacific under threat from powerful storms.
Nolo became a hurricane on Thursday night, the US National Hurricane Center said, and is expected to intensify further as it turns towards Hawaii’s Big Island.
Forecasters warned of 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76cm) of rain on the Big Island, with higher totals possible through Saturday. Maui, nearby, could also face life-threatening flooding.
The heaviest rainfall is expected in the south-east of the Big Island, an area still saturated after being struck by Hurricane Lala in August.
“There are several communities that were isolated, flooded, roads that were washed out,” said John Bravender, a warning co-ordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “It’s that same area that is most under threat.”
Hawaii has already faced major flooding in spring, an earthquake and two other hurricanes since mid-August. “In my 20 years of experience here, I’ve never seen three hurricane watches for the islands in the same year,” Mr Bravender said.
The governor has issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 National Guard members, while schools have been closed for the rest of the week.
Hawaiian Electric said crews restoring power on Kauai after Hurricane Lowell earlier this month would be moved to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island ahead of Nolo.
Hurricane Polo threatens Mexico’s Pacific coast
In Mexico, Polo has fluctuated between Category 4 and Category 5, the two highest levels on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. The National Hurricane Center said it was expected to regain Category 5 status on Friday.
Seawater swept through homes in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan on Thursday, scattering wooden planks and furniture across the streets.
Alicia Contreras, who owns a restaurant in the city, said 15-foot (4.5-metre) waves had severely damaged her property. “This is huge because we have no other source of income. Now we’re just surviving,” she said.
Mexican authorities have deployed 15,000 security personnel along the coast, suspended schools and opened shelters. Residents have been evacuated from high-risk areas, although officials have not said how many people were moved.
Polo poses the greatest threat to Guerrero and Michoacan, neighbouring states whose coastlines include small ports, tourist towns and fishing villages. Many of the communities are poor and residents say they are often left to cope with natural disasters themselves.
Hurricane Odalys in the Pacific and Tropical Storm Fay in the North Atlantic remain far from land. Tropical Storm Gonzalo could pass near or over Cape Verde, off West Africa, on Friday.
The run of storms comes during El Nino, a recurring climate pattern that warms parts of the Pacific and tends to increase tropical cyclone activity while suppressing the Atlantic hurricane season.
