At least five people have been killed, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, although local media have reported a higher number.

According to the Milenio television channel, 13 people were feared dead, including several children. There was no immediate confirmation of that number from the government.

Around 25,000 members of the military and the National Guard were in the area on the Pacific coast helping victims, Lopez Obrador said at a news conference.

Acapulco has been drenched by several days of rain “like we haven’t seen in a long time,” he said, adding that 19 neighbourhoods of the city were flooded.

Around 1,200 people were in emergency shelters, according to Lopez Obrador, who said that floodwaters were up to a 1.5m meter deep in some areas.

“Food supplies are being delivered and kitchens are being set up,” he said.

Clutching belongings, people waded down streets turned into muddy rivers, nearly a year after Hurricane Otis left a trail of destruction and claimed several dozen lives.

“We’re desperate,” said Barbara Encinas, who was queueing up outside a supermarket.

“We haven’t recovered from Hurricane Otis yet, and now we’re in a situation that seems to be worse,” she told AFP.

John slammed into Mexico earlier this week as a major Category 3 hurricane, causing flooding, landslides and several deaths.

The slow-moving storm has churned along the coast for several days, at times losing strength and intensifying again.

On Friday, John made landfall again as a tropical storm with sustained winds of up to 72kph, threatening to bring “catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides,” the US National Hurricane Center said.