UK Foreign Office issues all-but-essential travel warning for several Mexican regions as Hurricane Polo approaches

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has warned British nationals to limit travel to several Mexican regions as Hurricane Polo, a Category 5 cyclone with 160 mph winds, nears the Pacific coast. The storm, currently about 175 miles west-southwest of Zihuatanejo and 160 miles south of Manzanillo, is forecast to deliver four to six inches of rain, with peaks of eight inches in Guerrero, creating severe flood and landslide hazards.

The FCDO’s advisory restricts all-but-essential travel to Guerrero (except Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa by air), Baja California (with limited airport and bridge transit), Chihuahua (allowing travel to the capital and certain border routes), Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Chiapas, while exempting specific cities and highways. Mexican officials have ordered evacuations, set up shelters, and mobilised thousands of soldiers and Red Cross volunteers to mitigate the impact.

Coastal swells are also expected to generate dangerous surf, rip currents and further flooding along the southwest shoreline. The advisory aims to protect travelers from the imminent weather threats and the associated infrastructure disruptions.