Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico – Mexican authorities on Wednesday forecast up to 39 named storms during the 2021 hurricane season, which will once again be “above average” after beginning on the earliest date on record.
Although the Mexican Pacific hurricane season officially starts on May 15, tropical storm “Andres” formed on May 9, making it “the earliest formation in the Pacific,” Blanca Jimenez, the head of the National Water Commission (Conagua), said at a press conference.
“The previous record was held by tropical storm ‘Adrian’, which formed on May 10, 2017. In addition, this is the second consecutive year that a cyclone has formed in the Pacific before the official start of the rainy and tropical storm season,” she added.
Conagua predicts between 15-19 named systems in the Atlantic Ocean, of which between 8 and 12 will be tropical storms, 4-5 will be Category 1 or 2 hurricanes, and 3-4 will be Category 3 to 5 hurricanes.
For the Pacific, where Jalisco is located, 14-20 named systems are predicted, of which between 7 and 10 will be tropical storms, in addition to 3-5 Category 1 or 2 hurricanes, and 4-5 Category 3 to 5 hurricanes.
“Considering that the average number of landfalls in the country is traditionally four to five, and that above average activity is forecast on both coasts, we are anticipating having between five to seven landfalls in Mexico this year,” said Jimenez.
These forecasts come after Mexico experienced the “most active cyclone season in history” in 2020, with 46 phenomena, of which 29 were tropical storms and 17 hurricanes, nine of which were major storms.
But they are also forecast while 85% of the Mexican territory faces drought conditions, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
“The phenomena associated with the presence or absence of water represent 90% of the losses or damages caused by the natural disasters that occur in Mexico,” warned Laura Velazquez, director of the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC).
The factors “that determine the occurrence and damage of meteorological phenomena have multiplied,” acknowledged Rosa Icela Rodriguez, head of the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC).
“As we face increasingly complex situations, climate change is generating the most atypical and severe events with a greater impact,” added the secretary.
This will also be the first year in which Mexico will not have the Natural Disaster Fund (Fonden), which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked to eliminate due to his policy of “republican austerity.”
However, the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) affirmed that they have 80,500 men ready to attend any emergency situation, while the Secretary of the Navy, Jose Rafael Ojeda, asked the coastal areas to reinforce prevention measures.
“In many coastal states what is lacking is a bit of will on the part of municipal presidents or governors, to be vigilant… prevention helps us,” said Admiral Ojeda.
Source: informador.mx
