(Mexico City) the hurricane Orlene is intensifying as it approaches the Pacific coast of Mexico, which it is expected to reach in the coming days, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday.
Posted at 8:53 a.m.
With sustained winds of 165 km / h, the hurricane was located at 8 p.m. Saturday 285 km south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, in the state of Jalisco (west), and 375 km from the archipelago. of Islas Marias, in the state of Nayarit, and it was moving north at 9 km/h, the Miami-based NHC said.
The hurricane dropped from category 1 to 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 5 as it approached the coasts of Jalisco state, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) said. , in a press release.
According to the planned trajectory, “the center ofOrlene must pass near or over the Islas Marias on Sunday night or Monday morning and reach the coast of mainland Mexico” the same day, the NHC detailed.
The hurricane brought “intense rains” from the south to the north of the Mexican coast accompanied by “strong winds and heavy swells”, the Civil Protection office said on Twitter, urging residents of at-risk areas to seek refuge in temporary shelters.
The Navy meanwhile closed ports in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco.
Mexico’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts are prone to hurricanes each year, usually between May and November. In October 1997, more than 200 people died during the passage of Paulina on the Pacific coasts.