Daily Black Immigrant News
Hurricane Roslyn slammed into a sparsely populated area of Mexico’s Pacific coast between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan on Sunday morning, then weakened to tropical storm strength and quickly moved inland.
By Sunday night, Roslyn had sustained winds of 45 km/h (30 mph), down from its peak of 209 km/h (130 mph). The US National Hurricane Center said Roslyn was about 80 km (50 miles) west-northwest of the northern city of Monterrey.
The hurricane was moving northeast at 35 km/h (22 mph) and was expected to lose strength further as it moved inland. The center expects Roslyn to dissipate before reaching Texas.
Local media reported that two people died after taking shelter in unstable structures that collapsed during the storm, but Nayarit state’s civil defense office said it could not confirm those deaths.
While it missed a direct hit, Roslyn brought heavy rain and high waves to Puerto Vallarta, where ocean waves battered the beachfront promenade.
Roslyn came ashore in Nayarit state, roughly the same area where Hurricane Orlene made landfall on October 3.
The hurricane made landfall around the village of Santa Cruz, near the fishing village of San Blas, about 150 km (90 miles) north of Puerto Vallarta.
In Tepic, the capital of Nayarit state, Roslyn downed trees and flooded several streets; Authorities asked residents to avoid going out Sunday as crews worked to clear a landslide that had blocked a local highway.
The Federal Electric Commission reported that more than 150,000 homes had lost power as a result of the storm, and that by midday Sunday, service had been restored to about a third of those customers.
Meanwhile, beachfront restaurants in Puerto Vallarta where tourists had lunched undisturbed Saturday were deserted Sunday morning, and in some cases, the waves washed away railings and small thatched structures that normally keep the sun off diners.
The head of the state civil defense office for the Puerto Vallarta area, Adri?n Bobadilla, said authorities were patrolling the area but had not yet seen any major damage.
The National Water Commission said rains from Roslyn could cause mudslides and flooding, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that heavy rains could cause flash flooding and landslides over rugged terrain inland.
NewsAmericasNow.com
