Hurricane Manuel

Category 1 Pacific hurricane in 2013

Hurricane Manuel
Tropical Storm Manuel near hurricane strength on September 18
Meteorological history
FormedSeptember 13, 2013
Remnant lowSeptember 19, 2013
DissipatedSeptember 20, 2013
Category 1 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds75 mph (120 km/h)
Lowest pressure983 mbar (hPa); 29.03 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities169 total
Damage$4.2 billion (2013 USD)
(Second costliest tropical cyclone in the Eastern Pacific)
Areas affectedOaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Texas
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 2013 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Manuel (/ˌmæn(j)uˈɛl, ˌmɑːn-/)[1] brought widespread flooding across much of Mexico in September 2013, in conjunction with Hurricane Ingrid. The fifteenth named storm and seventh hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Manuel originated from a strong area of low pressure south of Acapulco on September 13. Within favorable conditions aloft, the storm intensified into a tropical storm as it tracked northward. The following day, Manuel curved westward and strengthened to a point just shy of hurricane intensity before making its first landfall at that intensity on September 15. Due to interaction with land, the tropical storm quickly weakened, and its center dissipated over western Mexico on September 16. However, the storm's remnants continued to track northwestward into the Gulf of California, where they reorganized into a tropical cyclone the next day. Manuel regained tropical storm status on September 18 as it began to curve northeastward. Shortly thereafter, Manuel attained Category 1 hurricane intensity, before making its final landfall just west of Culiacán at peak intensity. Over land, Manuel quickly weakened due to interaction with Mexico's high terrain, and the storm dissipated early on September 20.

Due to the impending threat of Manuel, several Mexican municipalities were put under disaster alerts. Upon making its first landfall, Manuel caused extreme flooding in southern Mexico. Property and agricultural damage as a result of the system was widespread, and roughly one million people were estimated to have been directly affected. In Guerrero, 97 people perished, including 18 in Acapulco. Seventy-one others died due to a mudslide in La Pintada. In Guerrero alone, around 30,000 homes were damaged and 46 rivers overflowed their banks. There, 20,000 persons were evacuated to shelters. Statewide, repairs to damage from the storm totaled MXN$3 billion ($230 million USD).[nb 1] Other impacts from Manuel spread as far east as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where 300 families were displaced. In the region, at least 11,591 homes were destroyed by the floods. Meanwhile, the nation sustained additional impacts from Atlantic Hurricane Ingrid.

After its second landfall, additional floods occurred in several towns, and in Sinaloa over 100,000 people were rendered homeless and four people died. As a result of Manuel's impacts, 107 municipalities were declared disaster regions. Damage in Sinaloa totaled MXN$500 million (US$37.9 million). The Mexican Army was dispatched in several locations to aid in post-tropical cyclone relief operations. Following the storm, looting in heavily impacted areas became commonplace, and as such government forces were also dispatched to prevent further looting. Overall, 169 people lost their lives in Mexico, while damage exceeded MXN$55 billion (US$4.2 billion). Manuel was the costliest Pacific hurricane on record at the time, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Otis in 2023.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression