The hurricane Lidia was hurtling toward the resort towns of Puerto Vallarta along Mexico’s Pacific coast on Tuesday.
Meteorologists warn it could generate winds of 170 km/h by the time it makes landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
The hurricane is expected to pass over an isthmus before hitting Puerto Vallarta Bay, which could soften the impact somewhat.
Schools have closed all along the coast. The tropical storm Max hit the southern Pacific coast over the past few hours, hundreds of kilometers away, before dissipating.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported early Tuesday that Lidia was accompanied by winds of 140 km/h and warned that it would have to gain strength before making landfall.
Lidia was located early Tuesday about 400 km west-southwest of Puerto Vallarta, and was sliding east-northeast at about 20 km/h.
The hurricane center warned of flash flooding and storm surges from the hurricane.
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