Hurricane John takes aim at Mexico beach resorts

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

MANZANILLO, Mexico, Aug 31 (Reuters) Hurricane John punished Mexican ports and beaches with huge sea surges, heavy rains and strong winds early on Thursday as the dangerous Category 3 storm swirled in the Pacific Ocean off the coast.

The hurricane could dump a foot (0.3 metre) of rain, causing landslides or flooding and had maximum sustained winds approaching 125 mph (205 kph) that could produce isolated storm surges of up to 18 feet (6 metres), uproot trees and rip roofs off buildings.

Residents in the busy port of Manzanillo boarded up doors and windows, and those living along hills were moved to emergency shelters as authorities warned the town would be buffeted overnight.

''They've said it's going to be strong. We're making sure nothing will happen to the shop, and then we're going home,'' said Juana Martinez, 25, a clothes shop attendant as she taped up windows and placed clothes in cardboard boxes.

The Mexican government said its hurricane warning extended from the southern steel-making port of Lazaro Cardenas up the Pacific coast to the tip of the Baja California peninsula, popular with tourists and yachtsmen.

The hurricane crawled in the Pacific parallel to the coast at 24 kph about 120 km southwest of Manzanillo. It was about 590 km south of the tip of Baja California.

Maximum sustained winds at 2300 hrs local yesterday (1130 IST today) approached 205 kph, giving the hurricane the punch capable of life-threatening flooding, mud slides in mountainous areas and severe damage to property.

Rainfall of 15 to 25 cm, with isolated deluges of 45 cm, were possible along the Pacific coast in the warning areas, forecasters said.

TOURISTS SEEK SAFETY Manzanillo hotels said the few tourists in the town -- a commercial and fishing port and a haven for US and Canadian fishermen -- had left early, and others had canceled bookings.

All the way up the coast emergency workers were on alert for mudslides and flash floods. Authorities feared John could make a direct hit later this week on Baja California.

Earlier, the busy tourist resort of Acapulco had sea surges of up to 3.5 metres. Seafront roads were ankle-deep in water and people struggled to stay on their feet in 215 kph winds that knocked down trees.

At 2200 hrs local (0830 IST today) the Miami-based National Hurricane Center downgraded John one mark to a Category 3 storm but warned that heavy rainfall could cause ''life-threatening flash floods'' and mud slides in mountainous areas.

It said that on its current track, John was moving west-northwest and would remain off the coast, but said a small deviation in its path could bring it onshore.

''Although the center of John is forecast to remain offshore, winds to hurricane force are expected within the hurricane warning area,'' it added.

In October, Hurricane Wilma smashed up Cancun and other beach resorts on Mexico's Caribbean coast. It caused massive damage, sucking away large stretches of beach and stranding tens of thousands of tourists in makeshift shelters for days.

REUTERS MS KN1257

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