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Hurricane Willa is forecast to have become a Category 4 storm in the eastern Pacific, on the road to the west coast of Mexico. As a result, tourists have abandoned the Mexican beach of Mazatlan.
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI
Tourists take advantage of Mazatlan Beach, in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, where Hurricane Willa is expected to land on October 23, 2018.(Photo: Daniel Slim, AFP / Getty Images)
According to forecasters, Hurricane Willa has become an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in the eastern Pacific in the western Pacific.
Earlier Monday, Willa had reached Category 5 status, with winds of 160 mph.
The landing is scheduled for Tuesday night or early Wednesday, likely as a major hurricane (category 3 or higher), announced the National Hurricane Center.
According to the center, Willa is expected to "produce a storm surge, winds, and life-threatening rains on Tuesday" in parts of southwestern and west-central Mexico. It should also lead to threatening surf and tidal conditions.
"Willa is expected to land about 40-60 miles south of Mazatlan, Mexico," said Dan Kottlowski, AccuWeather hurricane expert.
The risk zone includes many high-rise hotels, surf beaches and fishing villages.
The hotels began taping their windows and the authorities began evacuating thousands of people and closing schools in a low-lying landscape where the cities are located in the middle of farmland nestled between the sea and the lagoons.
"People do not want to evacuate, but it is for their safety," said Enrique Moreno, mayor of Escuinapa, a town of about 60,000 inhabitants located on the path planned by Willa.
A hurricane warning was issued on the west coast of Mexico between San Blas and Mazatlan. Tropical Storm Alerts have been launched from Playa Perula to San Blas and from North Mazatlan to Bahia Tempehuaya.
As of 11 pm EDT Monday, Willa was centered about 195 miles south-southwest of Mazatlan. It was moving north at 9 mph.
The storm was getting bigger: as of Monday night, hurricane winds extended to 35 miles from the center of Willa and winds of tropical storms were blowing up to 125 miles.
According to the hurricane center, parts of western Jalisco, western Nayarit and southern Sinaloa in Mexico were likely to cause floods and landslides in parts of Mexico.
More: Follow the path of Hurricane Willa
Willa could spread heavy rains and the risk of floods in central Mexico and the southern United States later in the week and next weekend, said AccuWeather. This includes soggy Texas.
21st tropical storm or hurricane named in the East Pacific in 2018, Willa exploded in force in recent days, passing from a tropical storm at 40 km / h to a monster briefly to 160 km / h.
Contribute: The Associated Press
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