On the morning of Thursday, June 19th, Hurricane Erick made landfall on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca as a Category Three hurricane. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NOAA), the storm's landfall occurred between the cities of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido. Wind speeds at the storm’s center reached 125 miles per hour.
Prior to reaching land, Erick underwent a phase of rapid intensification — in just 24 hours between June 17th and 18th, it transformed from a tropical storm into a devastating Category 4 hurricane. This made Erick the first major hurricane in recorded history to strike Mexico’s eastern Pacific coast before the month of July.
The most severe damage occurred in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. In Oaxaca, heavy rains and powerful winds triggered flooding, landslides, and widespread infrastructure damage, particularly in the cities of Puerto Escondido, Salina Cruz, and Pinotepa Nacional. Roads, schools, hospitals, and homes were all affected. In San Pedro Pochutla, a man was electrocuted after coming into contact with fallen power lines.
In Guerrero, tragedy struck in San Marcos, where a swollen river swept away a one-year-old child as his mother attempted to cross while carrying him in her arms. Power outages and property damage were also reported throughout the region.
After landfall, Erick quickly weakened due to the region’s mountainous terrain. Within just a few hours, it dropped to Category 1, then to a tropical storm, and finally dissipated by the evening of June 20th. Nevertheless, heavy rainfall persisted, contributing to prolonged flooding.
In the state of Michoacán, where the remnants of the storm arrived overnight on June 20th, localized flooding and transportation disruptions were observed. According to official reports, more than two hundred seventy-seven thousand people experienced power outages in the state.
Tropical hurricanes are behaving more and more erratically with each passing year. They are now forming outside traditional seasons, intensifying more rapidly and unpredictably, and making landfall in previously unaffected areas. These shifts make hurricanes increasingly destructive and dangerous to human life.
The root cause of this change is the record-breaking warming of the world’s oceans. Abnormally warm waters provide additional energy to tropical hurricanes, amplifying both their strength and duration. To understand why ocean temperatures are rising so quickly — and what this means for the planet and for humanity — refer to a report of fundamental significance for all of humankind: “Nanoplastics in the Biosphere: From Molecular Impact to Planetary Crisis.”