The Pacific coast of Mexico is threatened by a storm

At a televised press conference, Civil Defense Director Luis Felipe Puente said that 58 shelters had been set up for the evacuees, although most of them had taken refuge at home. friends and relatives. The occupancy rate of hotels throughout the potentially affected area was 40%.

The western states of Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit are expected to be the most affected by the Willa, which, according to authorities, is expected to hit in the evening.

It comes as Willa rushes into a group of Mexican islands holding a prison colony and heading Tuesday afternoon to part of the country's Pacific coast, her winds of 195 km / h and her high waves threatening the resorts, surf beaches and fishing villages. .

Willa briefly reached Category 5 on Monday and then weakened to Category 3. The US National Hurricane Center warned, however, that it was still likely to cause a rush. storm, wind and rain in parts of western Mexico. The storm hit Islas Marias Tuesday, about 100 kilometers from the mainland. It was expected that he would land in the evening south of Mazatlan, a tourist resort of about 500,000 residents with many American and Canadian expatriates.

As Willa closed, Mazatlan's beach was almost gone, waves crashing against the coastal boulevard, black clouds looming overhead. Some surfers took advantage of the high waves even as workers climbed the windows of hotels, shops and houses.

The schools were closed and the streets almost empty.

The federal government has issued an "extraordinary emergency" decree for 19 municipalities in the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa.

Authorities in Nayarit, along the Mexican Pacific coast, ordered the closure of all stores and businesses in six municipalities, in anticipation of the hurricane's planned landing.

On Tuesday, the state government's Facebook page states that all commercial activities must be closed. Firefighters asked citizens to stay at home, away from windows and stay calm.

According to officials, 7,000 to 8,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas, mainly in the state of Sinaloa, where small towns are located in the middle of farmland nestled between the sea and the lagoons.

There was no immediate information on the conditions in Islas Marias, a group of islands including a nature reserve and a federal prison.

According to the forecasters, Willa would have landed on the coast somewhere over a distance of 220 km between Mazatlan and San Blas.

Bob Swanson, from Saskatchewan, Canada, spends two to six months a year at his home in Mazarlan's Cerritos near the coast. He filled his washing machine with water, filled his fuel tank and refueled car, he must go to the mountains for his safety.

"I come from a country where we have hurricanes and violent storms, so I look forward to it," he said on the phone while sitting on his porch and smoking a cigarette.

Enrique Moreno, mayor of Escuinapa, a municipality of about 60,000 along the potential Willa pathway, said officials were trying to evacuate everyone in the seaside village of Teacapan.

He estimated that 3,000 people were affected, but he expects some people to try to stay.

"People do not want to evacuate, but it's for their safety," he said.

Further south, the remnants of tropical storm Vicente continued to bring heavy rains that caused severe flooding in southern and southwestern Mexico. Officials from the state of Oaxaca said that seven adults and five children had drowned or had been killed in landslides.