Death toll rises to 6 as Hurricane Simon and Rachel remnants unleash floods in Mexico

ENSENADA, Mexico (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel rose to six Tuesday after heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast, authorities said.

Hurricane Simon continued moving slowly off Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 1 storm, bringing heavy rain to Nayarit and Sinaloa states, where authorities remained on alert for rising rivers and flooding. Over the weekend, the hurricane brought heavy rain to the southern state of Guerrero, killing one person.

But the worst damage was reported farther north, in the coastal city of Ensenada, Baja California, where flooding caused by Rachel’s remnants killed at least five people.

The victims included a 13-year-old girl whose body was found Sunday, two women ages 30 and 35 and a 4-year-old boy whose bodies were recovered Monday, and an unidentified person found near a stream Tuesday, the state prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press.

Five others remained missing in Baja California, including three in Ensenada and a father and son who went fishing Saturday in San Felipe, on the Gulf of California, and never returned.

About 300 military personnel, police and rescue workers searched along Ensenada’s El Pipila stream Tuesday, while the Mexican Navy continued looking for the missing fishermen, state civil protection authorities said.

Floodwaters swept away vehicles, damaged homes and cut off access to some communities.

Johana Nuriulu, a resident of Ensenada’s Buena Vista community, said the flooding began overnight, shortly after heavy rain knocked out electricity.

“We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but very intense,” she said. When she stepped outside, she discovered a nearby stream had overflowed.

“The water was sweeping everything away; it took a cabin ... animals, everything.”

Elsewhere near Ensenada, Mexican soldiers used helicopters to rescue 32 people, including 13 minors, from Rancho Genesis, a camp for orphans staffed by missionaries.

The army said 22 of those rescued were foreign nationals. Baja California Security Secretary Gen. Laureano Carrillo said they included Americans and Germans.

Simon was moving parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast Tuesday, threatening more rainfall in Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa.

The hurricane was centered about 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph (90 mph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was moving west at 4 kph (2 mph).

In southern Guerrero state, Simon’s heavy rains toppled trees and utility poles, blocked roads and flooded homes in coastal communities, including the resort city of Acapulco, Gov. Evelyn Salgado said.

A 71-year-old person died when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, the state capital, she said.

Authorities also took preventive measures in the port city of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, ahead of the storm, national Civil Protection Coordinator Laura Velázquez said Monday.

Meanwhile, conditions were improving in the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, where residents began resuming normal activities as the rain subsided.

State authorities ordered schools to reopen Tuesday, while operations at Puerto Vallarta’s airport gradually resumed.

Silva Rey reported from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Associated Press writer Fabiola Sánchez contributed from Mexico City.

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