Mexican Authorities Up Beach Warning to code red

Crystal clear skies and soft tropical breezes belied the increasing concern of Mexican authorities as a unrelenting surge of high waves and dangerous riptides continued to assail the west coast States of this North American Republic.
In Alcapulco; high waves breeched sea walls, flowing down seaside streets and alleyways. In Puerto Vallarta, small boats were smashed, beached, or broken against stone breakwaters. In Mazatlan, Sinaloa, massive waves reaching more than 3 meters have been pounding the resort town nonstop since April 9. The Secretary of public security, Ernesto Cebreros Murillo, issued an alert to all owners and captains of small boats plying the waters of Sinaloa. "We are asking all captains with home harbors in the State of Sinaloa to abstain from putting out to sea," he said.
Despite a record number of tourists frequenting the area, Central Mexican beach waters remain off limits to all but sightseers and sun worshipers who are cautioned to stay above the high water mark
Manuel,Garcia Rivera, a spokesman for the Mazatlan Search and Rescue indicated that the most dangerous sections of beach in the tourist areas are those that cover the Golden zone. In particular, he cited the beach that runs from the popular nightclub, Valentinos, north to the section of town known as Cerritos.
Farther south, beaches at Islas Peidras were closed until further notice as red flags and security patrols proliferated in areas usually frequented only by surfers and scuba divers.
The highly unusual ocean conditions are being blamed on an equally unusual storm off the coast of South America that spun itself out over those waters last week. The after effects of the storm are currently being felt from El Salvador, all the way to the Coast of Alta California. The National Weather Service declined to predict when conditions may return to normal.

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Large Waves Batter Mexico, El Salvador
townhall.com

A taxi drives on a flooded street after a large wave lapped into the
main coastal boulevard of the resort city of Acapulco, Mexico Monday
April 9, 2007. Six people that were swept out into the Acapulco Bay were
later rescued, according to Mexican news agency Notimex. (AP) Unusually
high Pacific waves battered beaches from El Salvador to Mexico and
carried people out to sea, prompting authorities in some places to order
swimmers out of the water Tuesday. At least two people were killed.

Waves topping 10 feet swept away a dozen swimmers near La Libertad on
Monday, 10 of whom were plucked from the water by boats and a
helicopter, Green Cross emergency worker Jose Larin said. A 35-year-old
man and a 16-year-old boy were killed.

El Salvador's government advised people "to avoid swimming at our
beaches due to the risk," Interior Minister Miguel Bolanos told a news
conference Tuesday.

Hundreds of miles to the north in Mexico, 16 people were rescued after
being carried away by high surf in the resorts of Acapulco and Mazatlan.

Lifeguards in Mazatlan ordered swimmers out of the water, local media
reported.

The large waves may be the result of swells generated last week by a
powerful storm thousands of miles away off the western coast of South
America, said U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis
Feltgen.

"It was a very impressive storm, and that storm, of course, is long
dissipated," Feltgen said. "However, the swells from that wave action
would have been going out, and it generally takes about a week's time to
get from there to the Mexican, El Salvador or Costa Rican coast."