Hurricane John leaves at least two dead after making landfall on the coast of Mexico

At least two people were killed in southern Mexico by Hurricane John, which after making landfall this Monday as a Category 3 hurricane was downgraded Tuesday to a tropical storm, authorities reported.

It was reported that two people died "due to a landslide in their house" in the community of Tlacoachistlahuaca, said Evelyn Salgado, governor of the Mexican state of Guerrero, at a press conference.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane John was at 8 a.m. EST roughly 6 miles from the popular vacation destination and port city Acapulco and recorded sustained winds of 53 miles per hour.

"It was a strong phenomenon, with a lot of rain," President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during his morning press conference.

John made landfall near Marquelia, Guerrero, a sparsely populated region, and then moved into a mountainous area.

Rain and blocked roads

Guerrero's coastal towns were mainly affected by heavy rainfall, road closures, power outages and the suspension of schools, Governor Salgado added.

This southern state in Mexico and the neighboring state of Oaxaca have been the hardest hit by John, which shortly before making landfall reached Category 3 (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

In the impacted area, some 8,000 officials have been deployed, including military and emergency personnel. In addition, some 300 shelters have been set up to accommodate people living in high-risk areas.

The governor explained that the teams are working mainly on clearing roads to bring food and water to the affected communities, most of which are impoverished.

In October of last year, Category 5 Hurricane Otis left a trail of destruction and several dozen dead after ravaging Acapulco.

Otis quickly intensified in a matter of hours from tropical storm to a powerful hurricane, which surprised authorities and weather experts.

In July, the Mexican Caribbean was affected by Hurricane Beryl, which forced the evacuation of hundreds of tourists and caused at least 18 deaths in Caribbean islands, Venezuela and the United States.

Mexican authorities are also keeping an eye on a system forming in the Caribbean that, according to the NHC, could become a hurricane on Wednesday off the coast of the state of Quintana Roo, where the resorts of Cancún, the Riviera Maya and Tulum are located.

Because of its geographic location, Mexico suffers an onslaught of tropical storms and hurricanes every year, both on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November.