Mexico shut the ports at Acapulco and Zihuatanejo to all vessels and barred small craft at three other Pacific ports as Category 4 Hurricane Polo churned offshore Wednesday. Though forecast to stay offshore, it could bring life-threatening flooding and mudslides in Guerrero.
Mexico's Navy identified the three ports where small vessels were barred as Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas and Puerto Escondido; Acapulco and Zihuatanejo were closed to all vessels. The Security Ministry said command posts were active in Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco and Guerrero, coordinating risk inspections and temporary-shelter preparations, with preventive evacuations possible if conditions required.
The National Hurricane Center expected Polo's core to be near southwestern Mexico's coast over the next day or two, while forecasting it to remain offshore. It forecast 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) of rain in Guerrero through Thursday and 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. Polo had winds near 150 mph (240 kph), with higher gusts, after earlier reaching Category 5; the center expected it to remain a very powerful major hurricane for several days.
