The municipality of Mulegé formally installed its Municipal Civil Protection Council on May 19, launching coordinated emergency planning for the 2026 hurricane season. The season officially began on May 15 and runs through November 30.
Municipal secretary Celina Ramírez Castro led the inaugural session in Santa Rosalía. Representatives from the National Guard, the Mexican Navy, IMSS (the Mexican Social Security Institute), ISSSTE (the federal employees’ social security agency), local fire departments, and civil organizations all participated. State civil protection undersecretary Héctor Amparán also attended the meeting.
El Niño Could Fuel an Active Storm Season
Officials at the session warned that the presence of El Niño could produce an especially active cyclone season in the eastern Pacific. The council agreed to strengthen preventive measures against flooding, landslides, and flash floods, all common threats in the Mulegé municipality’s desert arroyos and coastal lowlands.
Ramírez Castro said the administration’s priority is protecting families across the municipality. She committed to following up on every agreement reached during the session to improve the area’s emergency response capacity.
What This Means for the Mulegé Corridor
Mulegé is the largest municipality by area in Baja California Sur, stretching from the Sea of Cortez coast near Santa Rosalía south to Loreto and inland across much of the peninsula’s central desert. The region took a direct hit from Hurricane Hilary in August 2023, which made landfall near Mulegé and caused severe flooding.
The multi-agency structure of the new council is designed to centralize emergency communications among federal, state, and local responders. For residents and visitors in communities like Santa Rosalía, Mulegé town, and Loreto, the council’s activation means municipal shelters, evacuation routes, and emergency protocols are now being reviewed and updated.
Mexico’s national water commission, CONAGUA, has projected 11 to 15 tropical systems in the Atlantic basin for 2026. Peak hurricane activity in the eastern Pacific typically hits in August and September, when warm sea-surface temperatures off the Baja coast fuel storm development.
This story was first reported by BCS Noticias.