Hurricane Simon Nears Mexico as 121 Municipalities Alerted

Hurricane Simon was a Category 4 storm near Mexico’s west-central Pacific coast on Sunday, as President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents in coastal areas to shelter and emergency alerts covered 121 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima. Sheinbaum said residents in coastal municipalities in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan should remain sheltered until authorities declared the danger had passed. In a post on X, she also urged people to follow civil protection instructions and stay off the streets. Precautionary evacuations were continuing, according to her statement. Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under the highest cyclone alert and another 93 under a high alert, according to civil protection bulletins. Classes were suspended in affected areas, and emergency shelters were opened, reports said. The US National Hurricane Center said Simon was expected to move very near the west-central coast on Sunday and remain close to it Monday. The storm’s eventual track, including whether its center would cross inland or stay offshore, remained uncertain.