Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced she will personally travel to the state of Oaxaca this Friday to oversee relief operations in response to Hurricane Erick. While the storm’s overall impact has been contained, the president emphasized that certain communities remain cut off and require urgent attention.
Speaking at her morning press conference, Sheinbaum explained that damages extend beyond the coastal areas to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, including municipalities like Juchitán, where overflowing rivers have caused severe damage. She noted that military and federal agencies are already on the ground providing support. Once the emergency phase ends, the Ministry of Welfare will begin a formal assessment of damages.
In a live link from the National Palace, National Civil Protection Coordinator Laura Velázquez Alzúa and Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz reported that the following municipalities were most affected: San José Estancia Grande, Santa María Cortijo, Santo Domingo Armenta, Santiago Tapextla, Santa María Huazolotitlán, Santiago Jamiltepec, Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, San Juan Bautista Lo de Soto, and Santiago Llano Grande. In Guerrero, the affected areas included Ometepec, Cuajinicuilapa, and San Nicolás.
General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, head of the National Defense Secretariat (Sedena), reported that 32,397 personnel were mobilized during the storm’s preventive phase, with 9,632 stationed in Oaxaca, 11,876 in Guerrero, and 12,000 in Chiapas. Authorities have opened shelters, are distributing 5,000 hot meals daily, and are actively engaged in debris removal, medical assistance, infrastructure repairs, and clearing fallen trees.
Official damage reports include 70 homes affected and nine landslides in Oaxaca, along with the rising of the Los Perros and Ixtepec rivers. In Guerrero, 55 homes sustained damage, four sinkholes were reported, and the El Mesón stream overflowed. President Sheinbaum underscored that all operations are being carried out under the DN-III-E Plan, the Mexican Army’s historic disaster response protocol, which has served the population for 59 years.
