OF THE
TIMES
'Zombie' Hurricane John regains strength in Pacific, flooding parts of Mexico's southwestern coastUpdate October 1
Towns along Mexico's southwestern coast are dealing with torrential rain, flooding and landslides after tropical storm John strengthened back into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
John is considered a "zombie" storm - a term referring to systems that dissipate before strengthening back into a storm. After slamming into Mexico as a deadly Category 3 hurricane on Monday night, it dissipated before returning as a hurricane, battering Mexico's Pacific coast. Even after initially dissipating, remnants of the storm continued to move along the coast, bringing continuous rainfall.
In the resort city of Acapulco, which still hasn't fully recovered from the destruction of Hurricane Otis last year, several neighborhoods were flooded and residents in at-risk areas were told to evacuate to temporary shelters. Parts of the city have received over 500mm of rain this week, and 431mm over just the past 24 hours.
Along Mexico's southern Pacific coast, floodwaters receded on Monday, leaving behind devastated towns and 17 dead, after John struck the coast once as a hurricane and again as a tropical storm last week.
Desperate residents in the town of Coyuca de Benitez, about 35 miles west of the resort city of Acapulco, organised volunteers to go to outlying areas to burn the bloated bodies of farm animals that drowned.
The carcasses could become a health risk, so teams of townspeople set out with cans of diesel to help them in their grim work.
The Mexican army began delivering aid packages to families in the town that were hit last year by Hurricane Otis and then last week — twice — by John.
Comment: Update September 28
Newsnationnow.com reports: Update September 29
AP reports: Update September 30
CBS News reports: Update October 1
ITV reports: Update October 2
CNN reports: