Hurricane Agatha, dubbed the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the eastern Pacific in may, swept through a stretch of tourist beaches and coastal towns on Monday before weakening and moving inland over the southern Mexico mountains.
Devastation of Hurricane Agatha
Rain falls during the arrival of Hurricane Agatha in Huatulco, Oaxaca State, Mexico, on May 30, 2022. - Hurricane Agatha, the first of the season, made landfall Monday near a string of beach resorts on Mexico's Pacific Coast, where residents and tourists hunkered down in storm shelters.
As Hurricane Agatha pushed onto the coastal regions of Mexico, a sparsely populated region of small communities, torrential rains and howling winds bent palm trees and forced tourists and residents into shelters.
The civil defense agency of Oaxaca state showed droves of families hurrying into shelters in Pochutla and rock and mudslide blocking the highway between the state capital and towns.
Hurricane Agatha made landfall roughly five miles west of Puerto Angel in the late afternoons as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds reaching 105 mph. However, the strong storm quickly began to lose strength as it pushed further inland, reports APNews.
Late Monday, Agatha was downgraded to a tropical storm with 70 mph maximum sustain winds. According to the US National Hurricane Center, Agatha was expected to dissipate overnight; however, the agency warned that the system's heavy rain posed a threat of flash floods.
Earlier the same day, heavy rains, wind, and big waves lashed the beaches of Zipolite, best known for its bohemian vibe and clothing-optional beach.
Understanding Hurricanes
Hurricanes, according to NASA, are large swirling storms that produce 74 mph winds or higher. They form over warm oceanic waters and can strike on land. When it reaches land, it pushes a wall of ocean water onto the shore called a storm surge.
As hurricanes forms, experts predict their path and intensity. There are five categories of hurricanes based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurrican Wind Scale depending on their maximum wind speed, with the highest category reaching wind speeds of more than 157 mph.
National Geographic says that there are three main parts to hurricanes; the calm eye in its center, the eyewall where rains and winds are strongest, and the rain bands which spin out from the hurricane's center, which gives it its size.
Hurricanes begin as tropical disturbances, an area over warm oceanic waters where rain clouds build. These tropical disturbances can grow into tropical depressions - an area of rotating thunderstorms with winds reaching 38 mph or lower. Tropical depressions, in turn, can become tropical storms if their maximum wind speeds reach 39 mph. Lastly, this can evolve into a hurricane if its winds reach 74 mph or higher.
Experts are not certain why or how hurricanes form; however, they are certain that there are two necessary ingredients. First, warm water. Warm oceanic waters provide storms with the energy it needs to evolve into hurricanes. Typically, the surface water temperature must be at least 26 degrees Celsius or higher for hurricanes to form.
The second ingredient is winds; when they do not change speed or direction as erratically as they go up in the sky, it creates the perfect environment for hurricanes to form.
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