Mexico declares 'red alert' for Tropical Storm Bud

Mexican authorities declared a "red alert" Thursday for the popular resort region of Los Cabos as Tropical Storm Bud closed in on the coast, whipping it with wind and rain.

Under the measure, the highest level of alert, authorities will evacuate some 9,000 people from areas at high risk of flooding and other damage, said the head of emergency services for the state of Baja California Sur, Carlos Alfredo Godinez.

"We are evacuating families from high-risk zones, by force if we have to," a local official in Los Cabos, Luis Alberto Gonzalez, said in a briefing.

With its turquoise water and picturesque beaches, the Baja California peninsula in northwestern Mexico is a hot vacation spot for Americans and Canadians.

Authorities ordered the closure of the two airports that serve the Los Cabos area, including the international airport, which handles more than 100 flights a day.

An estimated 21,000 tourists are currently in hotels in the resort towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, in the Los Cabos area at the tip of the peninsula, according to state tourism minister Luis Araiza.

He said the hotels had implemented safety protocols.

Schools were closed in Los Cabos and state capital La Paz.

At midnight GMT, Bud was poised to make landfall near Cabo San Lucas, traveling at 11 kilometers (seven miles) per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers (45 miles) per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to cross the Baja California peninsula overnight, then move over the Gulf of California on Friday, hitting mainland Mexico as a tropical depression on Friday night or early Saturday before dissipating.

Bud was a category four hurricane on Tuesday, but has weakened as it has approached land.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Storm-battered Dominica braces for new hurricane season
Roseau, Dominica (AFP) June 12, 2018
With the hurricane season starting up again in the Atlantic, Irvince Auguiste is feeling vulnerable. He, his wife Louisette and their three sons are still living in the ruins of their five-bedroom home that Hurricane Maria flattened nine months ago when it ravaged the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica. They have rebuilt a kitchen, a washroom and a communal living area with sheets of plywood, but they are sleeping in tents. "We are worried," Irvince says. "I don't know where we will go if ... read more