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MAZATLAN, Mexico (AP) – Hurricane Willa invaded a group of Mexican islands containing a prison colony and headed Tuesday afternoon to a collision with a portion of the country's Pacific coast. , its winds at 125 km / h and high waves threatening resorts, surf beaches and fishing villages.
Willa briefly reached Category 5 on Monday and then weakened to move to Category 3. The National Hurricane Center of the United States warned however that it was still likely to cause a storm surge, life threatening wind and rain in parts of western Mexico.
The storm hit the Marias Islands, about 100 km from the mainland, on Tuesday morning. 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.
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 has filled his washing machine with water, filled his fuel tank and refueled his car, he needs to head into the mountains for 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 he was sitting on his porch and was smoking a cigarette.
Enrique Moreno, Mayor of Escuinapa, a municipality of about 60,000 inhabitants located along the potential Willa Way, 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.
Tuesday morning, Willa was concentrated about 55 km southwest of Islas Marias and 205 km southwest of Mazatlan. It was moving at 5 mph (7 km / h).
The strength of the hurricane winds extended to 55 km from the center of the storm and the tropical winds were blowing up to 125 km.
The American Hurricane Center warned that Willa could bring rain between 6 and 12 inches (15 and 30 centimeters) – up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) in some places – in parts of Jalisco, Nayarit states. and Sinaloa, with floods and landslides. possible in mountainous areas.
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.
