Five Dead as Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Rachel Hit Mexico's Pacific Coast

At least five people have died after Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Rachel struck Mexico's Pacific coast, triggering floods that toppled trees, snapped electricity poles, blocked roads and flooded homes.

Guerrero's governor Evelyn Salgado said a 71-year-old man died when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, and that the storms damaged infrastructure and homes in coastal towns, including the major port of Acapulco.

In Baja California, the prosecutor's office reported that four members of a single family, two of them children, were found dead on the outskirts of Ensenada, and five other individuals remain missing.

Security forces deployed helicopters to rescue 32 people, while Baja governor Marina del Pilar said more than 50 residents are being housed in temporary shelters.

Simon, which did not make landfall, weakened to a Category 2 cyclone and is moving away from the coast, though a rain alert remains in effect. The National Hurricane Center warned that heavy rain over the next several days could still cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides. Waves up to five metres high are also expected in some coastal areas.

Flooding and landslides have already impacted communities near rivers and streams in Michoacán and Colima. Scientists attribute the heightened intensity of the season's storms to the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, which is amplified by human-induced climate change.