Tropical Storm Boris forms off Mexico’s Pacific coast; heavy rain forecast in coming days

MEXICO CITY – Tropical Storm Boris formed off Mexico’s Pacific coast Tuesday, forcing evacuations in seaside and mountain communities vulnerable to flooding and mudslides.

Boris was forecast to bring torrential rains to coastal states such as Chiapas and Oaxaca.

The Chiapas state civil defence office said that it had already evacuated about 300 people from around the coastal community of Arriaga and that further evacuations were planned as the storm got closer to land.

The state cancelled classes in many areas, and mud and rockslides already occurred on some state roads.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Boris was centred about 90 miles (150 kilometres) southeast of Salina Cruz on Tuesday evening. It was moving north at about 5 mph (8 kph) and had maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph (65 kph).

Its current track would take it almost directly across the narrow waist of Mexico that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific.

A tropical storm warning was in effect in southern Mexico from Salina Cruz to Mexico’s border with Guatemala.

Forecasters said tropical storm conditions were already reaching the coast, with nearly 4 inches (10 centimetres) of rain reported in Puerto Chiapas.

Boris could produce as much as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimetres) of rain over southern Mexico in the coming days, creating the risk of deadly floods and mudslides, the hurricane centre said.