Giant Pacific waves hit Mexico

Puerto Escondido – Giant waves – stirred by a powerful low pressure system in the Pacific – have given surfers the ride of their lives and flooded coastal regions at a Mexican surf mecca.

The storms originated near the International Date Line and included sustained winds of up to 110kmh at its source, creating a massive swell that surprised residents when it reached coastal regions fringing the eastern Pacific.

Puerto Escondido, a world-famous surfing town two hours south of Acapulco, was one region hit by the monster waves on the weekend.

Shops and restaurants were flooded and surfers battled the biggest waves in the area perhaps for decades.

“It shows huge waves can be generated quite some distance away,” said Alex Zadnik, a meteorologist with Weatherzone, who has surfed at the Mexican beach. “The weather conditions wouldn’t have given the locals a clue of what was coming,” he said.

Zadnik said professional surfers had taken to social media, describing 10-metre waves far beyond what they had experienced before.

Many took to wearing special buoyancy vests to ensure they stayed afloat.

According to local big wave surfer Coco Nogales, it was the heaviest surf Mexico has seen in twenty years.

And both eyewitnesses and big wave surfing aficionados are tossing around the phrase “biggest paddle-in wave ever” – and almost certainly at Puerto Escondido.