Get you up to speed: Mexican president urges residents to shelter as Hurricane Simon approaches
Hurricane Simon, a Category 4 storm, is currently affecting coastal communities in Jalisco, Mexico, prompting Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to advise residents to remain indoors. The storm is producing winds of at least 240 km/h (150 mph) and has led to the issuance of the highest cyclone alert for 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima.
Hurricane Simon has prompted Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination to issue the highest cyclone alert for 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima. As of Sunday, 93 additional municipalities were placed under a high alert, and classes have been suspended in the affected areas.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has urged residents along the Pacific coast to remain sheltered until authorities declare the danger has passed, as the National Civil Protection Coordination placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under its highest cyclone alert level. Jalisco’s Governor Pablo Navarro cautioned of “high-risk marine conditions” due to Hurricane Simon, urging residents to follow official instructions and take safety precautions amid ongoing evacuations and suspended classes in affected areas.
What remains unclear — It is not known whether the storm will make landfall or when officials will declare that the danger has passed.
Mexican president calls for residents to shelter as Hurricane Simon nears
News|WeatherMexican president urges residents to shelter as Hurricane Simon approaches
The Mexican community of Cabo Corrientes faces the risk of a direct hit as the Category 4 storm churns off Jalisco.
Published On 11 Oct 202611 Oct 2026
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has urged residents along the Pacific Ocean to stay indoors as Hurricane Simon’s powerful winds and heavy rains pound coastal communities.
As of Sunday, the hurricane’s eye was moving offshore of Mexico’s Jalisco state, with winds of at least 240km/h (150mph).
Torrential rain has already battered residents living between the Sierra Madre mountain range and the ocean. Communities in hilly and mountainous areas have been warned to brace for mudslides.
Simon reached Category 4 strength, on a scale of five, on Saturday, as part of an unusually active Pacific hurricane season.
“With the approaching impact of Category 4 Hurricane Simon, we urge residents of coastal municipalities in Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacan to remain sheltered until authorities officially declare that the danger has passed,” Sheinbaum wrote in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday.
In a midday advisory, the United States’ National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Simon could produce “additional rainfall totals of 8 to 16 inches (20 to 41 cm) over portions of southwestern Mexico”.
Precipitation totals as high as 76 cm (30 inches) were possible in areas of Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco until Monday.
It’s not clear whether the storm will make landfall. But the greatest risk of a direct hit lies at the moment with Cabo Corrientes, a town that sits on a cape in Jalisco, jutting into the Pacific Ocean.
A man boards up a shop as Hurricane Simon approaches Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on October 10 [Fernando Llano/AP]
Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima under its highest cyclone alert level, while another 93 municipalities were under a high alert level, according to civil protection bulletins.
Classes were suspended in the affected areas, and efforts to evacuate residents were under way.
Businesses in popular tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta boarded up windows and placed sandbags at entrances as the storm approached.
Jalisco’s Governor Pablo Navarro warned that the high-powered hurricane was creating “high-risk marine conditions” along the coast of his state, with waves reaching as high as eight metres (26 feet).
On Sunday, he also shared video on social media of the storm surge crashing onto sidewalks and flooding waterways.
“Here is the current state of Jalisco’s beaches this morning — from Barra de Navidad to Puerto Vallarta — as Hurricane Simon passes through,” he wrote in the video’s caption.
“I ask everyone to heed official instructions, take precautions and avoid putting themselves at risk. The safety of Jalisco’s families is the top priority.”
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