Rains and flooding along Mexico's Pacific coast from Hurricane Simon and Tropical Storm Rachel have left five people dead, authorities said Monday.
Hurricane Simon claimed the life of a 71-year-old man who died when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo in the southern state of Guerrero, according to Governor Evelyn Salgado during the daily presidential press conference.
Tropical Storm Rachel is blamed for the deaths of four members of one family, including two children. The bodies were found on the outskirts of the city of Ensenada in Baja California, a poor and sparsely urbanized area, the state's prosecutor's office reported.
Five additional people remain missing in the region. Security forces, supported by helicopters, rescued 32 people who were isolated in various locations across the area.
The eye of Hurricane Simon, a Category 2 storm, remained offshore as it pounded western Mexico. The hurricane did not make landfall and did not cause the severe devastation that had been feared. Wind speeds weakened as the system moved along the coast and encountered mountainous terrain.
The El Niño phenomenon, characterized by rising water temperatures in the Pacific, is fueling more intense hurricanes this season in the region, according to authorities.