Mexico Flood Death Toll Rises to Six as Simon Lingers Offshore

The death toll from Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel rose to six on Tuesday, Mexican authorities said, after days of heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides along the country's Pacific coast.

Five of the deaths were in Ensenada, in Baja California, where floodwaters from Rachel's remnants tore through neighborhoods near the El Pipila stream. The state prosecutor's office told The Associated Press 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 on Tuesday.

Five people remain missing in Baja California: three in Ensenada and a father and son who went fishing Saturday off San Felipe, on the Gulf of California, and never returned. About 300 military personnel, police and rescue workers searched along the El Pipila stream on Tuesday, and the Mexican Navy kept looking for the missing fishermen, state civil protection authorities said.

Floodwaters swept away vehicles, damaged homes and cut off access to some communities. In an earlier phase of the emergency, security forces used helicopters to rescue 32 people, and Baja California officials said more than 50 people were being helped in temporary shelters.

Simon stays offshore, still dangerous

The sixth death was in the southern state of Guerrero, where Simon's rains killed a 71-year-old man when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, the state capital, Gov. Evelyn Salgado said. Simon's heavy rain also toppled trees and utility poles, blocked roads and flooded homes in Guerrero coastal communities, including the resort city of Acapulco.

Simon never made landfall. By Tuesday it was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph), centered about 110 miles (180 km) west of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, and moving slowly west, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said the slow-moving storm would keep bringing heavy rain to Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa, with a hurricane warning in effect for Las Islas Marias and a hurricane watch farther north along the coast.

Conditions were improving in Puerto Vallarta, where schools reopened Tuesday and airport operations gradually resumed.

Another storm is already forming

Forecasters are watching a third system. Tropical Storm Trudy formed in the Pacific on Tuesday, about 490 miles (790 km) south-southeast of Acapulco, with winds of 40 mph (65 kph). In its 21:00 UTC advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Trudy is forecast to intensify rapidly, become a hurricane by Wednesday night and reach major hurricane strength by Friday. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect for Trudy yet, but the center urged residents of southwestern and west-central Mexico to monitor its progress.

Key numbers

• 6: confirmed deaths, five in Baja California and one in Guerrero
• 5: people still missing in Baja California
• 90 mph: Simon's sustained winds on Tuesday, a Category 1 hurricane
• 300: soldiers, police and rescue workers searching in Ensenada
• 40 mph: Tropical Storm Trudy's winds at formation, with rapid strengthening forecast