Hurricane Polo could produce life-threatening flooding in Mexico’s Baja California

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo bore down on Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Monday with a threat of storm surge, high winds and heavy rains, while Hurricane Nolo threatened parts of Hawaii with torrential rain even as the storm edged further away from the state's islands.

Polo was a Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) Sunday evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm is expected to lash the peninsula with heavy rainfall overnight and could produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides.

Nolo was well southwest of Hawaii and moving away from the Big Island as the weekend drew to a close, but a high-wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening. Nolo’s maximum sustained winds increased to near 105 mph (165 kph).

In Puerto San Carlos, a fishing town of about 5,700 people on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, residents boarded up homes Sunday as workers hauled dirt and rubble to shore up the embankments protecting the town. Authorities said 90% of the community was susceptible to flooding.

Residents feared high tides and pounding waves could breach the barriers and send seawater through the community. Some families planned to evacuate to shelters in Ciudad Constitucion, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) away.

“Civil Protection told those of us here in San Carlos to evacuate because this is a high-risk area. With the current tides, the expected waves and the wind, the earthen barriers they built (to prevent flooding) could give way. They said they wouldn’t hold,” Rocío Sánchez, a fisherman, said.

Forecasters said Polo would hit the Mexican mainland after crossing Baja California and could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week. Polo was moving to the north at 12 mph (19 kph) about 270 miles (435 kilometers) west of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula’s southern tip, the hurricane center said.

The Pacific has been unusually active, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.

With Polo approaching Mexico, the Mexican navy said it has gathered personnel and humanitarian aid in the ports of Guaymas and Mazatlan, on the country's Pacific Coast, and deployed three vessels that could ship aid to coastal communities isolated by the storm.

One of the towns in the hurricane's projected path is San Juanico, a small fishing community on Baja’s Pacific coast. The town has only had full-time electricity for a few years, and still experiences frequent outages. There is concern that washed-out roads could block access to medical facilities.

“Our people are concerned about this event,” said Gloriely Robles Meza, a manager at a small hotel. “We haven’t faced such a worrying situation in many years.”

Robles Meza said Sunday that army soldiers arrived in San Juanico to prepare a shelter and provide support for possible emergencies.

Also Sunday, Tropical Storm Rachel formed well off Mexico's southwest coast. The hurricane center said Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was located about 300 miles (485 kilometers) south of Acapulco. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

Forecasters said Nolo’s outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island possibly getting up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain. Heavy rain also was expected on the other islands.

More than 120 National Guard members were activated, part of roughly 400 statewide after the governor issued an emergency proclamation. President Donald Trump recently approved an emergency declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance and provide funding support.

Hawaii residents are still recovering from Hurricane Lala, which produced heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.

Video journalist Eugene Garcia and photographer Gregory Bull contributed from Hilo, Hawaii.

A man boards up a house's windows as Hurricane Polo approaches in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Workers build a barricade to help keep water out of their town as Hurricane Polo approaches in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Peggy McKibbin looks at where floodwaters from nearby Hurricane Nolo run past widespread damage from last month's Hurricane Lala Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Naalehu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Fire Captain Lui Sales of the Hawaii Fire Department looks for residents to help as rainwater from nearby Hurricane Nolo flood a section of Mamalahoa highway Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, near Naalehu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A man rides with his son near where a home was destroyed during last month's Hurricane Lala, as floodwaters from Hurricane Nolo recedes Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Naalehu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Benjamin Netanyahu traveled secretly to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend to ask its leader to deny reports that he had warned the Israeli prime minister about a looming Hamas threat ahead of the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

The meeting between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place on Sunday, two people who were briefed on the Israeli leader's trip confirmed on Monday.

Meanwhile, the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc is applying for observer status to a Saudi-led maritime defense coalition formed to protect the kingdom's energy exports. The EU already has six vessels deployed to the Red Sea to protect shipping.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Full coverage is available here.

The Israeli prime minister held a meeting with the UAE’s president on Sunday, according to two people who were briefed on Netanyahu's trip, which was first reported by Israel’s Channel 12 TV station.

One person familiar with the matter said the talks focused on a report published by the Israeli daily Haaretz earlier this month that said the Emirati leader had delivered a warning to Netanyahu about a looming attack by Hamas just ahead of its Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed to deny the report, according to the person who purported to have first-hand information about the meeting. Netanyahu’s office had previously denied the Haaretz report.

The person, along with a regional official briefed on the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the secret trip.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports about the meeting. But it said it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares “all relevant intelligence.”

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.

—By Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo

The European Union is applying for “observer status” in a new multinational maritime defense coalition led by Saudi Arabia and formed to protect the kingdom’s energy exports.

The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas made the announcement on Monday, ahead of a meeting in Brussels of defense and foreign affairs ministers. The energy-hungry EU is facing record energy prices due to the war in Iran.

Kallas said she will ask the assembled ministers to expand the bloc’s own small naval force in the Red Sea dubbed ASPIDES to help escort cargo vessels through the key strategic chokepoint of the Bab el-Mandeb strait against attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Kallas repeated that the “need is bigger than it’s ever been” for more ships than the six currently deployed under ASPIDES.

It’s unclear what observer status in the Saudi-led coalition would mean operationally for either the EU or ASPIDES.

Israel summoned the Spanish Embassy’s chargé d’affaires over remarks by Spain's youth minister who declared the country's public support for a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” — a slogan that implies a call for the elimination of the Israeli state.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Monday that Spanish Youth Minister Sira Rego’s remarks were “part of a systematic anti-Israel policy pursued by the Spanish government” and its leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The ministry said Rego had opted not to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led militant attacks on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Rego was barred from entering Israel in Sept. 2025.

The Dutch foreign minister says he “deeply regrets this unnecessary decision” after Israel announced it was expelling Dutch diplomats in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, within a week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the decision was in response to a Dutch ban that went into effect Sept. 22 on the “import, purchase and sale of goods” originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Netherlands and many in the international community consider such goods illegal.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said in a statement Monday that the temporary import ban wasn’t directed against Israel but that it “stems from an obligation under international law not to contribute to an unlawful situation — namely, the illegal settlements.”

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Displaced Yemenis sit outside at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Displaced Yemeni children from Al-Kadha, west of Taiz, gather at the Al-Akdaf camp in Taiz, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)