Update: Latest on Cancun hurricane season 2023

The Cancun area is subject to hurricanes from June 1 to November 30, so residents and visitors alike should be vigilant. The story continues below.

Update: Latest on Cancun hurricane season 2023
New information about the 2023 storm season in Cancun.

Cancun is located on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which makes it vulnerable to hurricanes. The hurricane season in this region runs from June to November, with the peak occurring in August and September. Hurricanes in Cancun can bring strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge, which can lead to property damage, flooding, and landslides.

It is important for residents and tourists in Cancun to be prepared for hurricanes and to follow the instructions of local authorities. This means keeping up with the latest weather forecasts, having an emergency kit ready, and knowing how to get out of the area in case of a hurricane.

Cancun municipality advises on precautions for hurricane season and different alert levels

In a press release, the General Directorate of Civil Protection of the Municipality of Benito Juarez, where Cancun is, asked everyone to learn the differences between the five alert levels so they could take the right precautions. This was done because it is currently hurricane season and to promote a culture of prevention.

Experts say that hydrometeorological events happen more often between June and November. They are measured on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which is based on how fast the winds are.

In category 1, these events have winds of 119 kilometers per hour or more and cause damage to trees, billboards, and mobile homes, as well as flooding in small areas. In category 2, the winds reach 153 kilometers per hour, so they do more damage to advertisements and trees, as well as partially destroy roofs, doors, and windows and flood highways and coastal roads.

All the newest information about the 2023 storm season in Cancun.
All the newest information about the 2023 storm season in Cancun.

When category 3 reaches 177 kilometers per hour, signs are knocked down and roofs, doors, and windows of buildings are affected, as well as destroyed mobile homes and major flooding of coastal areas; while in category 4, which increases to 208 kilometers per hour, the accumulation of water on roads reaches 10 kilometers and there may be serious damage to the structure of houses, such as roofs and some walls, as well as uprooted trees and billboards.

Lastly, category 5 is thought to be the strongest, with winds of at least 251 kilometers per hour. Because of this, the government must immediately evacuate a large number of people because it is expected that it will leave behind collapsed homes and buildings and even destroyed cars, as well as flooding that is more than three meters high and uprooted plants.

The most recent information regarding the 2023 storm season in Cancun.
The most recent information regarding the 2023 storm season in Cancun.

Cancun hotel association secures 90+ shelters for tourists during hurricane season

The hotel sector is fine-tuning the last details with the municipal authorities for the integration of the shelters that will receive tourists in case of a hurricane, which already numbers more than 90, said Jesús Almaguer Salazar, president of the Hotel Association of Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres.

"We have a meeting this week to finalize the issue of shelters, since April we went ahead to verify that the shelters are in condition and assigned, in that sense we have advanced a lot, there are 126 hotels of which so far we have more than 90 with shelters secured and we are going to close the issue with the authorities," he explained.

Current information about the 2023 hurricane season in Cancun.
Current information about the 2023 hurricane season in Cancun.
The most important thing is to verify that the shelter can accommodate the estimated number of guests during the different months of the hurricane season, as well as the possibility of providing them with basic services.

The lodging centers make agreements with schools or any other place that functions as a shelter, to have this link and verify that they are inadequate conditions to receive all the tourists that could use them in case of a hurricane.