Hurricane Norbert, a category-two storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, crashed ashore on north-western Mexico’s Pacific coast on Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
”Norbert is now ashore near the coastline in Puerto Cortes … the eye is close to hitting Puerto Cortes, but the entire area is being affected by hurricane strength” winds and downpours, a service forecaster said by phone.
The storm was moving at 24km/h with sustained winds of 165km/h, the weather service said, adding that it was spawning 4m waves.
”We expect Norbert to move over the Baja California Sur peninsula later Saturday before it enters the Gulf of California and then hits Sonora state,” the forecaster added.
So far, about 1 000 people were in shelters in Baja California Sur, and ”we do expect more, and if it is necessary, we will use authorities to take to shelters those who refuse to go”, said Jose Gajon, state civil protection chief.
Hotel reservations were off by about 40% mainly in Los Cabos and Loreto, local tourism officials said. — Sapa-AFP