Mexico assesses damage from Hurricane Erick as rising rivers leave at least 1 dead

Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region.Torrential rains over steep coastal mountains and the landslides and flooding they could generate became ongoing concern for officials after Erick dissipated following a landfall early Thursday on a sparsely populated stretch of coast.At least one death was confirmed late Thursday, a 1-year-old boy who drowned in a swollen river.Erick came ashore down southern Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning as a Category 3 major hurricane, but it landed between the resort cities of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido.Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding as coastal residents, above all in Acapulco, took the storm seriously with memories of the devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023 still fresh in their minds.With a steady rain falling on Acapulco, residents and remaining tourists emerged to walk outside or visit businesses opening gradually as the remnants of Hurricane Erick scraped by just inland of the resort.In Puerto Escondido, fishermen searched for and inspected storm-tossed boats and residents cleared downed trees and other debris.The threat of heavy rain remained in the mountains that rise abruptly behind Acapulco’s famed beaches.Erick spent the day dragging through the coastal mountain range, dropping torrential quantities of rain.It was expected to dissipate Thursday night over the mountains in Michoacan state.The U.S.

National Hurricane Center in Miami said Erick was centered about 95 miles north-northwest of Acapulco Thursday night.Its maximum sustained winds were 30 mph, degrading it to a low pressure area.

It was moving northwest at 13 mph.Erick had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coast but weakened before making landfall to a Category 3.Having doubled in strength in less than a day, Erick churned through an ideal environment for quick intensifi...