Rain and Tremors in Acapulco

(Acapulco, 20 June) Acapulco’s calm and sunny beaches were transformed over the weekend, as tropical storm “Beatriz” passed along the coast. The rains, which started on Saturday afternoon, fell almost constantly for over two days, letting up only in the mid-afternoon on Monday. Meanwhile, in celebration of Father’s Day, the city was relatively full of tourists, considering that it is “low season,” with 60% hotel occupancy on Saturday night.

Fishermen took their boats from the harbor, expecting much larger waves and swells than usual, up to 6 meters. The vessels fare much better off shore in such conditions than if they remain moored at the piers.

At 3:54:47 local time, the city was shaken by a tremor that lasted six seconds, startling tourists and locals alike. The magnitude of the quake was 4.7, less than shakes that had occurred earlier in the year; however, the epicenter was just 71 km to the northeast of Acapulco, at a depth of 42.2 km, making the seismic impact seem much stronger. Later that evening the townspeople felt a fairly short and mild aftershock. Such tremors are common events throughout the Southern Sierra Madres. Damage to property and injuries to persons are rare. No damage was reported as a result of this tremor, but it stood as a reminder that Mexico’s Pacific Coast, like the coast of California, is near a tectonic fault line that causes the earth to shudder from time to time.

With the passage of Beatriz and the calming of the foundations of the earth, life returned to its sunny “normal” in the port city.