Hurricane Polo has killed at least two children and left three people missing in Mexico's western state of Jalisco as the Pacific storm advances toward the Baja California peninsula, authorities said Sunday.
The two children, ages three and twelve, were found in the community of La Cuesta in Talpa de Allende after a sudden flash flood swept away a house where a family of four was sheltering. The bodies were located approximately 700 meters from the residence, according to Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus. Strong rains associated with Polo caused the house to be carried away by rising water.
Three additional people remain missing in the western state following heavy rainfall and landslides triggered by the hurricane, the local civil protection authority reported. Four of the five missing persons are members of the same family—two adults and two minors—who lived in one of three houses swept away by a swollen stream in Talpa de Allende municipality.
Emergency teams deployed two state helicopters early Sunday to search for the missing family members and have maintained search operations across affected zones.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Polo was positioned approximately 460 kilometers southwest of Cabo San Lucas, a popular tourist destination, as of Sunday evening local time. The storm was classified as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour, or 125 miles per hour.
Polo is expected to make landfall Monday evening local time on the Baja California peninsula as a strong hurricane. Forecasts indicate the storm will strike near the municipality of Mulegé and bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and widespread inundation to the region.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for northwestern Mexico from Punta Abreojos to Santa Fe in Baja California, the east coast of Baja California Sur from Loreto to Santa Rosalia, and mainland Mexico from Guaymas to Huatabampito. Hurricane-force winds are extending outward up to 45 miles per hour from the storm's center, while tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles per hour.
Authorities have called on residents to take shelter and prepare for the approaching storm.