MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Hurricane Roslyn is expected to hit Mexico’s Pacific coast at near major hurricane strength bringing dangerous storm surges and flooding, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, as authorities urged residents in some areas to move to safety.
Roslyn had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane by late on Friday, the Miami-based forecaster said, as it approached resort towns in central Mexico.
Preparations to protect life and property “should be rushed to completion” for areas under hurricane warnings along the Jalisco and Nayarit coastlines, it said.
Some 180 miles (290 km) south-southwest of the Mexican port city Manzanillo late on Friday, Roslyn was expected to follow the coast before turning inward near the resort town Puerto Vallarta, the NHC showed on a map.
Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast by late Saturday or early Sunday, it said.
The NHC predicts Roslyn’s sustained winds will reach some 110 mph (180 kph) as it nears San Blas, before it dissipates inland.
As of late Friday, it was packing winds of 85 mph (140 kph). Hurricanes become major Category 3 storms with winds of 111 mph.
“Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength by midday Saturday, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous,” the NHC said.
In Jalisco state, authorities told people to avoid beaches and asked tourism groups to avoid promoting or carrying out activities on the coast or in mountainous areas this weekend.
They also recommended people living in low-lying areas near rivers or streams to move to safety.
The NHC expects Roslyn to bring a dangerous storm surge with “large, destructive waves” and “significant coastal flooding”.
The storm is expected to dump rain across southwestern Mexico, with parts of the states of Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa seeing four to six inches (10-15 cm) of rain, with some areas seeing up to eight inches.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Sarah Morland, Editing by William Mallard, Robert Birsel)
